She Blinded Me With Science
by SiFi270
Summary: Instead of sending her away to Boarding School, Isshin keeps Ryuko with him so she can continue his work. She quickly becomes an expert, and from there, everything changes.
1. Prologue

Soichiro Kiryuin, known nowadays as Isshin Matoi, had made quite a few big mistakes during his life. Two in particular stood at the very top of his list: marrying Ragyo Kiryuin and managing to save only one of their two daughters from her clutches. But more recently, he'd made another big mistake that was steadily climbing into the top five on his list.

And that was homeschooling his remaining daughter, Ryuko Matoi.

This was one of his mistakes that he knew would be stupid before he even went through with it. Every one of his associates at Nudist Beach insisted that there was no way he'd be able to simultaneously combat the threat of life fibers and raise a child, and it was very difficult for him to disagree with them. When he did, his reasoning was rather flimsy, saying that he felt the need to have someone who could continue his work if he couldn't. An heir, so to speak.

Far more convincing was his argument that if he, say, sent her to a boarding school, he'd have no way of knowing how she'd end up without his guidance. He was the only family she had, and that made it all the more important that they stay together. The others told him with great reluctance that the needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few, and that sooner or later he'd have to choose between saving the world and staying with his daughter as the world went to hell. His response to this was simple.

"I'll choose now, and I choose both."

Before anyone was able to object that he couldn't, his facial expression preemptively responded: Watch me.

They soon realized that they now had no choice but to wait for him to be proven wrong the hard way, however that may be. This wait lasted many suspenseful years, with each day being more stressful than the last, but as time went on, they began to suspect that, against all logic, Isshin may actually have been _right_. When Ryuko was old enough, Nudist Beach's was explained to her, along with why Isshin wanted to take her under his wing, and when he did, she proved to be quite the prodigy. She had a surprisingly intricate understanding of not only how life fibers worked, but how they _thought_, and the fact that she based much of it on intuition only made it more astounding when she turned out to be right.

On one occasion, her talent actually managed to save a life. When Isshin was trying to recreate an outfit he had once made entirely from life fibers, his friend Kinue Kinagase had volunteered to be a test subject for it. Ryuko was uneasy throughout the whole process, as she felt that the outfit, codenamed 'Godrobe', couldn't be trusted in its incomplete state. But she assumed that, even if she had outdone them many a time, the adults knew what they were doing, which was why she didn't intervene until it was very nearly too late. She did so by rushing into the testing area forcefully removing the Godrobe from Kinue's body, evacuating them both so that it could safely be contained. When the Godrobe leapt towards the glass and slammed against it, angrily waving its sleeves in an effort to break through, it was clear that Ryuko had done the right thing.

"I guess we still have a long way to go," Kinue said. "But we can't stop just because of this."

While the others clearly agreed, her brother Tsumugu wasn't as easily convinced.

"Let me tell you two useful pieces of information," he said, looking her in the eye. "One: If Ryuko had intervened a moment later than she did, she would have been too late. Two: Next time, she could very easily be too late."

"'Next time' won't be for a very long time," Isshin said. "And when it does come, you won't be seeing anything like what you saw today, besides your sister's continued survival. Whether she'll even be a test subject next time is entirely up to her."

"Thank you, Dr. Matoi." She smiled politely. "While what happened today has certainly…" She spoke more quietly. "...been quite a shock to me," her voice returned to normal, "I trust you to live up to your promise, and when the time comes, I'll be entirely willing to try on those clothes again." Finally, she turned towards Ryuko and hugged her. "Thank you, Ryuko. I owe you my life."

"Um… no problem…" Ryuko blushed, partially because she was never good with responding to affection and partially because Kinue was still naked.

* * *

Over the next few years, Nudist Beach made astounding progress in their work, and not just with the Godrobe they were developing. They'd gained an impressive source of funds in the form of Kaneo Takarada, the richest man in Osaka, and Tsumugu worked with Aikuro Mikisugi to create a wide variety of anti-life fiber weapons that, unlike the Godrobe, didn't rely on a 'fight fire with fire' philosophy. Aikuro had also managed to discover the whereabouts of Isshin's other daughter, Satsuki, who was sadly assisting with the life fiber invasion while using the high school she attended as her base of operations. Under Isshin's orders, Aikuro infiltrated the school as a teacher, but Ryuko was told to stay put, much to her annoyance.

It was clear to everyone that, after saving Kinue's life, Ryuko had developed something of an ego, and while it was entirely understandable to have one when you'd saved a life with just your wits, she was becoming rather insufferable to some, especially Tsumugu. Because of this, she considered him to be ungrateful for her saving his sister's life, which only worsened the feud between them. As a matter of fact, even Isshin was finding her attitude tiresome, but there was no way he could say so to her. Even so, she began to feel underappreciated after a while, and at times she felt as though Kinue was her only friend among them.

But as bad as things were, there were a number of ways it could get worse. And one day, it did indeed get worse, in the form of a very unwelcome visitor.

Ryuko and Isshin were home alone that evening, both of them working on very important projects. Neither was quite sure when the house was infiltrated, but Isshin was the first to realize when he was suddenly attacked by the infiltrator in question. Without hesitation, he grabbed the gigantic pair of scissors he was working on and turned towards his assailant, a small girl who was likely a year or two younger than Ryuko. She was wielding what looked like a tape measure, but Isshin could already tell that nothing about this fight was as it seemed.

A mere few seconds of battle made two things quite clear to both involved: Neither had the advantage, but neither of them were going all out just yet. Before they could take things any further, Ryuko heard what was going on from the basement, and decided to go upstairs to investigate. When she did so, she didn't receive as many answers as she would have liked, but one thing was clear enough: Her father needed her help.

But as she was looking for a safe moment to intervene without being cut to ribbons, the Almighty Prodigy Ryuko Matoi came to a horrifying realization.

She had no combat experience whatsoever.

For the first time in years, she was too afraid to act. Any movement could have resulted in her and her father being killed in the blink of an eye, and the alternative was to stand and watch as he struggled against this… this monster.

He began to lead the struggle towards her, but she couldn't tell if he was doing so willingly or not. Just as he was right next to her, he let go of the scissors with one hand and silently invited her to grab on. When she did so, he separated the two blades, and by this point Ryuko had finally realized what he was planning.

In her panic, she hadn't realized until she was holding it that her father was fighting with the scissors he designed to cut through life fibers. The fact that Isshin was confident that she'd be okay with a weapon like this gave her some confidence as well. While it was true that she hadn't become an unstoppable fighting master, her father was quick to block for her whenever her guard slipped, and seemed to figuratively hold her hand until she had a better idea of what she was doing.

Eventually, they were practically moving in synchronization, as if the scissor blades were still connected. When she realized this, the girl fighting them began to worry, which was quite a new sensation for her. She quickly decided that the best course of action would be to try and steal one of the blades, but like Ryuko, she couldn't seem to find an opportunity. She eventually decided to take the risk, but regretted doing so in less than a second.

"My eyes! My eyes, my eyes, my eyes!"

She fell back, her palms pressed as tightly as possible against her face in a vain effort to keep her blood where it belonged. Although she no longer knew what Isshin and Ryuko were doing, she knew that her only choice now was to escape and report her failure.

Once she was out of their sight, Ryuko and Isshin breathed an immense sigh of relief. Ryuko had a feeling she'd be bragging about surviving this incident once it was water under the bridge, but for the moment, she was just glad they were alive.

"So," she said between heavy breaths, "do you have any idea why any of that just happened?"

"There's only one person who could be behind it," Isshin said. "If she's made her move, then it's time for us to make ours."

Ryuko's eyes widened. "You don't mean…?"

Isshin looked her in the eye. "Ryuko Matoi. Soon, you'll be attending Honnouji Academy. But first…

"...you've got a Godrobe to finish."

* * *

A/N: I came very close to panic when I noticed a plothole in this story's very premise that I thought couldn't be fixed (exact details would be a spoiler). But then thought of something.


	2. Plan A

_Wear me, and feed me blood!_

Although Ryuko couldn't hear her finished Godrobe's first words, she had a good idea of what they were based on its immediate struggling against its restraints.

"Straight to the point, are we?" She regarded it with a cocky smirk. "Just give me a minute. This is something of a big step for me to take." After a series of deep, calm breaths, she removed her current clothes and removed the Godrobe's restraints, causing it to pounce on her and struggle until finally she was wearing it, and feeding it blood.

"Well it doesn't _feel like _you're killing me," she said. "I'm going to have to add that to my ever-growing pile of successes. And now I'll be claiming my next at Honnouji Academy!"

The Godrobe was suddenly overcome with dread. _...Are you going to be like this all the time?_

Ryuko looked down at her outfit as though it were an orphan begging for more food. "Yes, but I've earned it. If _you_ ever find yourself in a position where you save and create lives for a living, I won't stop you from enjoying that."

The Godrobe grumbled irritably. _You're lucky your blood is so rich._

* * *

"Everyone," Aikuro said, "this is our new exchange student, Ryuko M-" He cleared his throat. "This is Ryuko Senketsu."

Ryuko frowned slightly. While it was obvious that she needed an alias if she was going to enter the belly of the beast, Kinue seemed to be the only one so far who was used to using it, mainly because she was the one who came up with it.

"Until now, she's been home schooled," he continued, "so while she may not be the most sociable person, I hope you'll all give her a warm welcome. Miss Senketsu, if you'd like to take a seat?"

Ryuko only saw one empty seat, positioned next to a girl who seemed to constantly be at the height of a sugar rush. Already, the girl was pointing eagerly to the seat, and with a resigned sigh, Ryuko sat next to her.

"Hi!" The girl beamed. "I'm Mako Mankanshoku! Let's be friends!"

Ryuko was reluctant to even look at her. "Why, exactly?"

"Well, we can either be friends or enemies," Mako said. "And having enemies is no fun, so that means we practically have no choice but to be friends!"

Ryuko briefly considered frying the poor girl's brain with big scary words like 'indifference' and 'casual acquaintance'. After much deliberation, she instead let out a simple "whatever," barely remembering what it was even in response to. When Mako's overblown celebration jogged her memory somewhat, she grumbled and let her head sink to her desk.

_This should be interesting,_ said the Godrobe, also dubbed 'Senketsu' by Kinue. _A meeting of Yin and Yang._

"Shut up," Ryuko muttered inaudibly.

* * *

As Ryuko traversed the corridor later that day, she found herself overcome with a dread she hadn't felt since she fought her father's would-be assassin. It was only with the agility she gained from Senketsu that she was able to dodge the sudden ambush, and the attacker soon came crashing to the ground.

After an exaggerated groan, Mako lifted herself from the floor. "See, this is why we're friends and not enemies." She chuckled slightly. "In a town like this, all sorts of people are enemies, but all yours are probably in hospital or something."

"She'd better be," Ryuko said under her breath.

"Still," Mako continued obliviously, "I'm more of a lover than a fighter. When I grow up, I'm hoping to be a surgeon, like my dad…"

Finally, the girl had Ryuko's full attention. "You, a surgeon?" She laughed loudly. "I doubt your dad's even that good a surgeon in the first place, but let me tell you: My expectations for you are even lower than that."

Mako laughed back, still under the impression that this was the beginning of a wonderful friendship. "Yeah, I guess we'll just have to see."

_Ryuko,_ Senketsu said, _aren't you forgetting something?_

Ryuko's eyes widened. "Say," she said, "would you happen to know where I can find the Student Council President?"

"Oh, you mean Satsuki?" Mako said. "Yeah, I can give you directions, but don't expect me to go with you. Some of the people there are _scary_."

"Not a problem," Ryuko said. "So, directions?"

* * *

While the Almighty Prodigy Ryuko Matoi feared nothing, she could easily understand why some of the people hanging around Satsuki's office (which was already an intimidating environment to begin with) could be considered scary. Just outside the door was a towering brute with the face of a lecherous old man.

"Excuse me," she said. "Is Satsuki Kiryuin in there?"

"She is," he grunted. "And what business might a no-star student like you have with her?"

"Forgive me for changing the subject like this," she said, "but I see you're a three-star student. That means thirty percent of your uniform is made from life fibers, doesn't it?"

Taken aback by her knowledge, he nodded slowly.

"The uniform I'm wearing is made from nothing but life fibers," she said, "so I guess that would make me a ten-star student? Say hello, Senketsu."

_Hello._ Senketsu's single 'eye' looked up at him and displayed an expression far enough from the uncanny valley to convince him that it was indeed alive.

All of a sudden, he began to sweat. "Oh dear…" He turned to the door behind him, briefly knocking before peering inside. "Lady Satsuki? There's somebody out here to see you." He listened to her response. "I'm not completely certain, but I think she may be an associate of your mother."

In response to that, Ryuko was almost immediately allowed inside, allowing her to set Plan A into motion.

Satsuki greeted her with a frown, although at the same time it seemed that she was somewhat relieved. "Who are you, and what do you want?"

Ryuko calmly took a seat from her. "What I'm going to tell you may surprise you, so I'd like to try and ease you into it. Now, stop me if you've heard this before, but…" She cleared her throat. "...'This will be your wedding dress… but when you put it on'-"

Satsuki's eyes briefly widened before returning to normal. "I've heard it before." She turned towards her associates. "Would the rest of you please leave the room?" She watched as they did so. "Now… Where did _you_ hear it?"

"From my father," Ryuko said. "From _our_ father. Satsuki Kiryuin, I am your sister. And I've come to ask for your help."

Satsuki needed roughly a minute to adjust to this revelation and reply accordingly. "This has certainly been an enlightening visit," she said. "But I'm afraid you must leave now."

"But-"

Satsuki held out her open palm in a 'stop' gesture before standing up and turning her back on her. "Go."

Ryuko tried to think of a counter-argument, but it was clear that nothing she said would persuade her. With a resigned sigh, she rose from her seat and left, and Satsuki's associates entered once she was gone.

While they were in there, Satsuki's powerful silence warned the others not to break it, and it was nearly half an hour when a short, pink haired girl finally spoke.

"Are you alright, Satsuki?" She said. "What did you talk about with her?"

Satsuki turned towards them. "I can't answer that just yet. All I can say about the matter is, 'we'll just have to see'."

* * *

A/N: Don't worry, Ryuko will eventually come to appreciate Mako's company. Such is the mirale of character development.


	3. Scheming Around Their Schemes

When Isshin saw Ryuko arriving home from school, he could tell she was feeling down, and he was almost certain he knew why. When he first described Plan A to her, he freely admitted that something as simple as 'try to reason with her' could easily have gone either way, but Ryuko was still as confident as ever that things would work out in her favor like they always did. When she explained the details to him, he tried to assure her that Satsuki's response didn't necessarily mean 'no', but this did little to improve her mood. Afterwards, Isshin decided that maybe it was best to change the subject.

"So did you make any friends while you were there?" He said, almost making it sound like she was an ordinary student who was attending for ordinary reasons.

"Not really," she said. "Mikisugi might tell you otherwise, but you know how much he likes to mess with me."

* * *

When Barazo saw Mako arriving home from school, he'd never seen her happier, and he was almost certain he knew why, because she was shouting it nonstop.

"I made a friend! I made a friend!"

"That's wonderful!" Her mother said. "So what kind of person are they?"

"Her name's Ryuko, and she's SUPER smart!" She said. "It's like if Albert Einstein travelled through time and met Isaac Newton, and they invented a way for two guys to have babies because they're super smart like that, and then the baby grew up to be Ryuko, and then they sent her to school and she was always like 'this is beneath me' because she's so dang SMART!" During this speech, she pantomimed many strange things, such as holding the blueprints for a time machine, holding the blueprints for space itself, having an apple land on her head, holding a baby, holding a fully grown Ryuko, and holding a scale model of the school below Ryuko.

Barazo chuckled. "I knew a guy like that in medical school. At first he hated me, but then I saved his life and we became totally inseparable. I wonder what he's up to now…"

* * *

Only one person on Earth could read Satsuki Kiryuin, and that was her mother, Ragyo.

"Bad day at school?" She said with ambiguously placed concern.

"Father faked his death," Satsuki said bluntly. "Although I can't say for certain that he's still alive right now."

Ragyo grimaced as she recalled Nui being returned to her with bandages wrapped around her head. "I have a hunch that he is," she said bitterly.

Although it was a vague statement, Satsuki was able to learn more from it than Ragyo might have intended. It was no secret to her that Ragyo treated Nui more like her daughter than Satsuki herself (although this didn't stop her from touching either of them in places that no parent should ever touch their child), and this was made quite clear during the past week when Ragyo was incredibly shocked upon seeing what had happened to Nui's eyes. Satsuki had come to associate the bitter tone she'd just used with that incident, and it was easy for her to read between the lines from there and conclude that Ragyo believed Isshin Matoi and Soichiro to be one and the same.

"So," she said, "you think you know where he can be found?"

Ragyo laughed humorlessly. "As I said, it's just a hunch."

"And how long have you had this hunch?" Satsuki said.

"It's… a recent hunch," she said. "I've suspected he's been hiding somewhere ever since he originally 'died', but it wasn't until a couple of weeks ago that I became sure of it."

"I see…" Faced with the realization that her mother tried to have her father assassinated, Satsuki felt a need to leave the room, but before she could reach the door, an unexpected question stopped her in her tracks.

"By the way… How did you find out about this?"

* * *

A vague dread followed Ryuko to school the next morning. Her intention with Plan A had been to play with some, but not all of her cards face-up, but ever since last night she'd had a feeling that she may have revealed one detail too many.

When Satsuki approached her later that day, the dread only worsened.

"I spoke with my..." Satsuki cleared her throat. "_Our_ mother about the discussion you and I had yesterday. I had to claim I knew next to nothing about you to keep her from knowing of your involvement in this, but it seems she's aware of your existence nonetheless."

"Father had his suspicions about that," Ryuko said.

"Speaking of whom," Satsuki said, "he _is_ still alive… Isn't he?"

Ryuko hesitated, struggling not to reveal anything more than she already had. "I… I'm sorry, I don't want to answer that right now… Maybe another time."

She was soon dismissed, and once she was out of sight she finally let the smile she was hiding shine through. If she'd given the exact same answer but phrased it differently, it could have been interpreted too easily as 'he is, but I don't trust you enough to say that', and while what she chose could be read the same way, she reasoned it was more likely to be interpreted as 'he isn't, and I still haven't fully recovered'.

"What're you so happy about?"

When Ryuko noticed Mako, she very nearly jumped out of her skin, but ultimately knew better than to do so in the presence of a wannabe-surgeon. "What do you want?"

Mako giggled. "To know why you're so happy!"

"Because I just did something smart," Ryuko said simply. "As a genius, being smart is the best part of my day."

"Sounds like fun!" Mako said. "Any _juicy details_ you'd like to share?"

"Normally I'd love to," Ryuko admitted. "But this is something of a private matter."

"Ooh," Mako said, "when you say it like that, it sounds like you came to this school for an undercover mission of some kind!"

"Yeah…" Ryuko laughed nervously. "If only life were that interesting…"

In her head, she took a quick note. _Mako Mankanshoku: More dangerous than Satsuki?_

* * *

A/N: HOLY CRAP. This story's on TVTropes' FanFic Reccomendations page. Thank you Mcnickel, and thank you everyone else.


	4. Judging by Her Cover

Ryuko and Satsuki very quickly ran out of conversational topics that were both meaningful and safe to discuss, and shortly afterwards they agreed that there was no longer any point in meeting daily. Unfortunately, this left them both with an awful lot of free time. Trying to learn of one another's secrets without revealing any of their own was the only real challenge they faced at school, and moving on from that proved to be rather boring.

Aikuro could tell in class something was different about her, and he could easily guess why. But it would have surprised him to know that he wasn't actually the first person to notice.

"You know who you remind me of?" Mako said idly. "You remind me of Sherlock Holmes. Whenever he didn't have a case, he'd lounge around in his apartment and fill the whole place with smoke and say 'BOY I SURE WISH I HAD A CASE'."

Ryuko gave her a curious glance. "You never struck me as a literate person. I mean, I assumed you were literate in the sense that you can read, but I didn't think you'd be… into literature."

"I haven't read any of the full books," she shrugged. "They tend to lose me whenever they get into the killer's elaborate backstory. The short stories focus more on Holmes himself, and that's where the main appeal is for me."

Having never read any of the stories herself, Ryuko could neither agree nor disagree. "I see… What got you into reading in the first place?"

Senketsu was holding back laughter, despite the fact that almost no one could hear him. _Are you really striking a conversation with her?_ He added a high pitched cry of pain when Ryuko grabbed dug her fingernails into her collar and tugged at it.

"It probably started with _The Very Hungry Caterpillar_," Mako said.

Ryuko rolled her eyes. "That's easy to picture," she said, imagining a very young Mako chewing on the book's pages.

"That twist ending just gets me every time," Mako continued. "As I grew up, I always read it whenever I was feeling down, so you can imagine my disappointment when the teacher told me I needed to pick something else to write an essay about."

Ryuko never thought she'd be interested in hearing this girl's life story, but she soon reasoned that it was only because she was so bored. "So what did you choose instead?"

"_Alice's Adventures in Wonderland_," Mako said. "And I am so glad I did! When I was reading it, I felt like I _was_ Alice, and I _was_ in Wonderland. But even then, I struggled to write the essay itself… But that was because they didn't explain it to me properly! Once they told me to just make a point about the book and then prove that point, I was pretty much guaranteed to pass, and I did, and ever since English Literature's been the one thing I'm good at!"

Ryuko was simply stunned at this point. She'd heard the expression, 'don't judge a book by its cover', but somehow she never thought she'd be associating it with Mako.

"By the way," Mako said, "you said you lived pretty far from here, right?"

Ryuko simply nodded, not entirely sure she liked where this was going.

"I was thinking," she continued, "would you like to stay at my place tonight?"

_Say no, say no, say no, say no…_

_Say yes,_ Senketsu said.

Ryuko gave her uniform an 'are you serious' look. "...yes?"

"Awesome!" Mako said. "I'll show you the way there after school."

"I…" Ryuko swallowed down the many expletives rushing through her mind. "I… have to go to the bathroom. Hold on a minute."

Soon, Ryuko accidentally sparked a rumor that the girl's bathroom was haunted, and that, if one walked by at the right time, they could hear the screams of the damned, occasionally repeating 'I hate you' over and over before moving on to far more interesting words.

* * *

Ryuko brought the phone to her ear. "...Father? It's me. I won't be home tonight. I'll be staying at..." She cleared her throat. "...I'll be staying at a friend's place. ...Yes, I know what I said. ...Yes, I'm sure I can guess what _he_ said… Speaking of which, _why_ did I need to finish the Godrobe before going to school? ...There haven't _been_ any emergencies. In fact, it's causing more problems than it's solving! The only thing it's done for me is allow me to speak to Satsuki, and we all know what a dead end _that_ turned out to be. ...Yes, any plan you've formed based on information that scarce is _destined_ for success. ...I'll believe it when I see it." She hung up the phone and met with Mako, who was currently struggling to contain her excitement.

"This is gonna be _so great!_" She squealed. "We'll eat stuff and play video games and watch movies and go to the moon and come to think of it absolutely none of that is in the budget."

"What about eating stuff?" Ryuko said.

"Well we'll probably be eating," Mako said, "but 'stuff' may be asking too much from me or my family. We'll just have to see."

Ryuko was afraid to ask what Mako's definition of 'stuff' was.

"But then again," Mako said, "if we're lucky, we might not even…" Ryuko didn't quite catch what she said after that, but she estimated that it was something along the lines of 'my ability to manipulate my facial muscles, particularly those in close proximity to my jaw, has just been compromised. This is most unfortunate, as prior to this development I had intended to ramble about food for the remainder of the journey'. After turning to look at Mako, she concluded that she had guessed correctly, word for word.

The reason she had reached this conclusion was due to the fact that Mako's ability to manipulate her facial muscles, particularly those in close proximity to the jaw, had indeed been compromised, and what's more, the reason for this was a comically oversized boxing glove in her face.

Ryuko turned her attention to the boy wearing the boxing glove and scanned him from head to toe. "Twenty percent life fibers… You're a two-star student, then. Did someone send you here, or was this your idea?"

"I don't have to answer to no-stars," he said, finally retracting his fist and holding it up defiantly. "And neither does Lady Satsuki. All you need to know is your place, and I'm here to beat that information right into you."

Ryuko looked at Senketsu, then at Mako's face, which looked more like something from an old western cartoon than an actual injury. Finally, she looked at the boxer again before preparing Senketsu to be finally _worn_ for the first time.

_And so begins Plan B,_ she thought with a sigh. _Hooray for brute force._

* * *

A/N: I believe the whole Bookworm Mako thing is canon in both universes. And in both of them, she grows up to write many successful children's books that frequently reinforce the "Japan is weird" stereotype for western readers.


	5. Punch-Out!

Ryuko's transformation wasn't the biggest surprise to the two people watching, even though seconds earlier neither of them had any reason to expect it. No, the biggest surprise was how revealing the outfit was after the transformation.

_Yep,_ Mako thought to herself. _I thought so, but now there's no doubt about it._

Once he had overcome his inevitable distraction, the boxer laughed loudly. "Why didn't you tell me you were a club president too? Although I can't imagine your Exhibitionism Club being that popular."

Ryuko tried her best to ignore his comments. _I mustn't be ashamed. Shame limits the Godrobe's true potential. As a member of Nudist Beach, I have a right to show my body like this._ She repeated the mantra a few more times until she felt ready to face him, which she announced with a simple yet effective punch to the face.

The boxer groaned as he lifted himself from the ground, now many yards away from Ryuko. While it was true that he'd been rather humiliated with that one blow, he felt that she was humiliating herself even more, and this thought gave him the necessary motivation to continue fighting.

"I guess a club president's still a club president," he said as he approached her. "But as the president of a club dedicated to fighting, I still have the advantage!"

"You still don't get it, do you?" Ryuko sighed. "Do you see any stars on this uniform? No? That's because they couldn't fit all ten of them on this outfit."

The boxer laughed, but Ryuko could tell he was nervous. "You don't expect me to believe that, do you? You'd have to be wearing a uniform made entirely out of life fibers, and if that was even possible, don't you think Lady Satsuki would have tried it by now?"

"She's probably still trying," Ryuko said, "and if she could just swallow her pride and accept some help from me, she'd have succeeded by now."

"How dare you talk about Lady Satsuki like that!" He threw another punch, and Ryuko just barely managed to block in time. As the battle continued, each time she successfully avoided injury was increasingly difficult to attribute to her own skill.

_Ryuko,_ Senketsu said, _you're relying on me considerably more than you are on yourself. If you ask too much from me, I'll be forced to drain a dangerous amount of blood from you in order to meet those demands._

"Just bear with me a little longer…" Ryuko said. "I've just got to…" She leapt towards him, and as she did she felt as though her entire body was being boiled alive. Just as he was about to punch her out of the air, she lost consciousness in front of him and collapsed to the ground. The last thing she heard was Mako crying her name.

Even though Ryuko was evidently much stronger than she was, Mako refused to admit defeat. She assumed a fighting stance, much to the boxer's amusement, but before he could finish her off, a sudden voice stopped all movement.

"Takaharu Fukuroda!"

Takaharu was afraid to turn towards the source of the voice, but even more afraid of what would happen if he didn't. He could easily recognize Satsuki's voice, and chances were that her Elite Four were with her, and when he received confirmation of this, he very nearly ruined a perfectly good Ultima Uniform.

"Had I arrived a moment later," she continued, "you could very easily have ruined everything that I've been planning for so long now. You are _very_ lucky that I _didn't_ arrive a moment later."

"Y-yes, Lady Satsuki," he said, already down on his knees.

"But I cannot allow you to go unpunished," she said. "Before the end of the day, you will relinquish both your title and your uniform, and you will return to Honnouji Academy tomorrow as a no-star student."

"Yes, Lady Satsuki," he repeated mournfully. "I'll have it done as soon as possible."

As they went their separate ways, Mako carefully watched Ryuko's body, ready to defend her from whatever Satsuki or the Elite Four may have wanted to do to her while she was in this state. When they simply left, Mako breathed a drawn-out sigh of relief before trying to work out the easiest way to carry Ryuko home.

* * *

Ryuko certainly didn't wake up in the most comfortable bed in the world, but at the same time, it wasn't one she was in a hurry to leave. The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was Mako leaning in uncomfortably close to her, but this quickly changed when Mako bolted upright in surprise.

"You're awake!" She said. "Don't scare me like that, okay?"

Ryuko sat up and looked around, quickly deducing that she was in Mako's house. She only needed a direct confirmation, so she asked, "what happened?"

Mako explained everything she understood from the moment Ryuko fell unconscious, finishing with a confirmation that she had taken Ryuko to her house. Satsuki's actions in particular were rather intriguing for both of them.

"He was endangering her plans by putting one or both of us in danger," Ryuko said. "No offense, but I think it was me she was worried about. But that still barely reveals anything about what's she's planning…"

"Well you might still be able to ruin her plans," Mako suggested innocuously, despite still missing a number of crucial details. "If she wants you to do something as part of her plan, then all you have to do is _not_ do something!"

Ryuko smiled slightly. "I'm honestly impressed you came up with that, but the thing is there's still a possibility she's on my side. It's been pretty complicated, and this encounter hasn't made it any simpler."

Mako would have replied, but she was too distracted by the fact that the Almighty Prodigy Ryuko Matoi had given her a compliment. It wasn't until her mother entered the room that the silence was broken, at which point Ryuko was strongly considering leaving.

"You must be Ryuko," she said. "It's a good thing you're awake now, because dinner's just about ready."

"Oh…" Ryuko said awkwardly. "Well, I guess I'll have dinner with you then."

* * *

"Inumuta," Satsuki said. "Were you able to learn anything from that battle that wasn't immediately obvious?"

Inumuta looked up from his laptop. "I may be headed in that direction, unless this turns out to be a red herring. When Senketsu said this…" He disconnected his headphones before pressing the spacebar, and Ryuko's voice was heard throughout the room.

"Just bear with me a little longer… I've just got to…"

"...it wasn't clear who she was speaking to," he continued. "I don't have much to go on at the moment, but my current theory is that she was talking to her uniform. If it's made entirely from life fibers, then it could very well understand what she's saying."

"I think I see where you're going with this," Satsuki said. "However, my main concern at the moment is her fighting prowess, which frankly left much to be desired."

"And this could possibly relate to that," Inumuta said. "If they can communicate, then doing so can strengthen the connection they share, and while we already know that they haven't reached their full potential together, this could mean that it may be easier for them to reach it than we thought."

"I see," Satsuki said. "Keep looking into it, then. The biggest issue at the moment is the strength of their connection."

"Yes, Lady Satsuki." He re-inserted his headphones and went back to work.

* * *

A/N: So it turns out having a story in the fanfic recommendations can be pretty stressful. It's like, 'what did I do right, am I still doing it right, will I ever do it right again'. Fun.

Update: An earlier version of this chapter had Inumuta referring to Ryuko as "Matoi", even though he's not supposed to know that's her real name yet. So I fixed that.


	6. Meet the Mankanshokus

Ryuko was having great difficulty ignoring the fact that the Mankanshoku family lived in a dump. But as she got to know them better, she became increasingly grateful for their hospitality, until finally she found herself able to look past the condition of where they lived and see a truly enviable family. Suddenly, she understood why Mako was so damn happy all the time.

"So Mako says you're a surgeon," Ryuko said. "You didn't try to operate on me while I was unconscious, did you?"

Despite her accusational tone, Barazo couldn't help but chuckle. "Mako really wanted me to, just to be sure you'd be safe. But when I looked at your wounds… I'll be honest with you, I'm really not sure how you lost consciousness."

Ryuko looked at her wrist, from where Senketsu drank her blood. To her confusion, it looked just as it had before the battle even started. With some hesitation, she turned the wrist in Barazo's direction. "Did my wrist look any worse than this when you looked at it?"

He leaned closer and raised an eyebrow. "A little," he said. "There was a small cut there, but it looked like it'd been there for weeks. But that still doesn't explain why it's completely gone now."

"It doesn't…" She returned to eating, having a feeling that she'd have more luck finding answers in her own home than here. As she searched the room for something to take her mind off this mystery, her eyes returned to a young boy she presumed to be Mako's brother. He looked familiar to her when she first saw him, and she'd been trying for a while now to properly identify him.

"I remember you now!" She said suddenly. "You're…" She hesitated to out him as a pickpocket in front of his family, as she didn't really hold it against him.

Mako gasped. "You guys have met?"

"I wouldn't exactly call it a meeting," he shrugged sheepishly. "I was about to pick her pocket, she saw me, and I ran away."

"And when was this?" Mako said.

"It was my first day at Honnouji Academy," Ryuko said. "My mind was elsewhere at the time, but I remember."

"Oh!" Mako said. "Yeah, I ran into him that morning, and he said something about seeing a hot girl. Turns out you really did!"

Both her brother and Ryuko blushed for different reasons, while Barazo and his wife simply laughed.

* * *

Due to their undesirable living conditions, Ryuko was fully expecting to have to share a room with someone when she slept, and, if given the choice, she would have chosen Mako, if only because she knew her better than the others. In a way, she got her wish. She did indeed share a room with Mako. It just so happened that Mako shared her room with the rest of the family, including the dog.

_You're surprisingly calm at the moment,_ Senketsu said. _Even with her father's snoring keeping you wide awake, nothing seems to be bothering you._

"There is something bothering me," Ryuko whispered, staring towards the ceiling. "But working out a solution to it is what's making me calm. I can always drown out lesser annoyances-" She looked meaningfully at Barazo. "-by giving my brain a workout."

_You're still trying to decipher Satsuki's intentions, aren't you?_

"Right," she said.

_Even though you've admitted repeatedly that you've reached a dead end in trying to do so._

"What are you getting at?" She said.

_I think there's another reason you're so calm,_ he said, _and you're trying to cover it up._

"How would you know?" She said.

_Because I can feel her as well._

Until this statement, Ryuko wasn't consciously aware of Mako clinging to her. She had been when it first happened, but afterwards her mind drifted elsewhere. Now that Mako was brought to her attention again, she became rather flustered, which Senketsu quickly noticed.

_Maybe I should have stayed quiet,_ he said. _Your pulse is quickening._

"You definitely should," she said irritably. "If you'll excuse me, I'll be trying to fall asleep now."

* * *

Takaharu Fukuroda had only been awake for a couple of hours, and today was already the worst day of his life. Segregation had forced him to travel with the other no-star students, and the fact that some of them recognized him just rubbed salt into the wound. Two of them in particular were infuriating to see, even if they were the two people who would recognize him no matter what.

"Listen," Ryuko said. "I know we both want to forget what happened yesterday, but I honestly think we should treat it as a new opportunity."

"A new opportunity for what?" He said, refusing to look at her. "I've lost everything, with no hope of getting it back."

"Everything?" She said. "Are you telling me that literally all of your boxing prowess came from that uniform?"

Just as she'd expected, but hoped against, he chose to prove her wrong by standing up and punching her down to the floor.

"Don't you ever say that!" He roared. "I'll never let my natural skills slip away from me!"

Ryuko forced a smile. "Then you haven't lost everything, have you?"

After taking some deep breaths, he sat down again, Ryuko moved up next to him. "What do you want?"

"I want you to teach me boxing."

That was certainly the last answer he was expecting to hear. Ryuko could tell just from the incredulous stare he was giving her. After a while, he finally spoke again.

"What's in it for me?" He muttered.

"A new chance," Ryuko said. "Want to prove to Satsuki that you deserve your uniform back, if not more? Or maybe you just want to get back at her? I can help you with either of those if you're willing to help me."

Takaharu cradled his head in his hands and sighed. "Both of those sound pretty good… But I'm still not sure which one I want…"

"That's great!" Mako said. "Neither do we! So, are you in?"

Mako's smile quickly infected him. With a humorless chuckle he answered. "Sure. What else could go wrong, am I right?"

* * *

Standing atop the highest point of Honnouji Academy, Satsuki felt the wind suddenly changing direction. After a few seconds, she found the breeze to feel somewhat relaxing from this angle, and so she closed her eyes and smiled serenely.

"If only life were this unpredictable," she said.

* * *

A/N: "Hey let's give the club presidents some character development and a role beyond their fight with Ryuko"

...Is what I _wish_ I'd planned from the start of this story, but Takaharu's return wasn't planned until I was just about to write that scene.


	7. Training Montage

Takaharu knew that if he was going to be a boxing instructor, there was some basic equipment he'd need, but wouldn't be allowed to have in his current position. If he wanted that equipment, he'd need help from a certain two-star student who would still view him as a friend regardless of his status.

At least, he _hoped_ she still respected him.

"Hi Omiko!" Mako waved energetically. "Sorry I couldn't attend tennis club yesterday."

"It's a good thing you notified me beforehand," she sneered, "otherwise things could've gotten _real_ ugly." All of a sudden, the lens on her right eye identified a familiar face, and although her sneer remained, it wasn't as harsh as before. "Well look who it is," she said. "You'd probably be the talk of the school right now if Lady Satsuki didn't insist on us forgetting you ever existed."

"I know, I know," Takaharu muttered. "Look, I need your help, okay?"

Omiko simply frowned at him.

"I swear it's nothing reckless!" He said. "I just need you to get two pairs of _ordinary_ boxing gloves and a pair of focus pads, okay?"

After a moment of looking into his pleading eyes, Omiko sighed and shrugged. "Fine. But if Lady Satsuki gets suspicious about this, I'm pointing her straight to you."

Ryuko leaned towards him and lowered her voice. "If it comes to that, I've got your back."

"Thanks," he said. "I'm not sure what you can do, but… thanks."

* * *

Ryuko returned home feeling rather content that day, but she knew there was one issue that still needed addressing, and she knew that now was the time to address it. She was glad not to have forgotten, but at the same time, she was rather worried.

"Father," she said firmly. "There was… an incident yesterday, that I'd like to talk to you about."

As he approached her, she explained what happened yesterday to him, concluding by drawing attention to where the cut should have been on her wrist. At first, Isshin hesitated to answer, but his expression made it clear that he knew what was going on, and didn't want to tell her. With a sigh, he finally spoke again.

"Ryuko… Do you remember when I told you yesterday that I was forming a plan?"

She nodded.

"I've been thinking hard about it since then," he said, "and I'm afraid there isn't a way I can make it work without me keeping some secrets from you. Although what you've brought up doesn't relate to this plan, I'm afraid it's another secret I'll have to keep from you. But I promise, once this plan has succeeded, I'll tell you everything."

Ryuko tilted her head. "And if it doesn't?"

Again, he hesitated, but this time this didn't eventually lead to an answer. He simply looked at her until he could no longer bear to see her increasingly distressed expression, at which point he abruptly stood and left.

An uncertain period of time later, Senketsu spoke, reminding Ryuko she wasn't alone. _I suppose all we can do now is have faith in him._

"Believe me," Ryuko said. "I'm trying."

* * *

Takaharu was astounded to see what a fast learner Ryuko was. In just a few weeks, she'd reached a level it had taken him over a month to reach, and he himself was generally regarded as a natural. If he didn't know any better, he'd say her developing skills, particularly reaction times, were… superhuman. What made this especially disconcerting was how she promised never to activate Senketsu during her training.

Meanwhile, Mako was showing much more effort in tennis club, much to Omiko's surprise. For some reason, it seemed directly connected to Ryuko's presence; whenever she was there, Mako would go all out. But on the few days Ryuko was absent, the quality of Mako's playing left considerably more to be desired, and whenever she was confronted about this, she'd simply say, "I guess my heart's just not in it."

Observing both of these developments with some intrigue were half of Satsuki's Elite Four, Houka Inumuta and Uzu Sanageyama. Sanageyama in particular was excited to see what he referred to as 'the development of a worthy opponent'. Inumuta, on the other hand was rather frustrated that he never got to see Senketsu transform again, which left some of the most important data a mystery to him.

"I wonder if I could get Lady Satsuki's permission to take her on," Sanageyama said. "If another threat comes along, she'll have no choice but to transform."

"Go ahead and ask her then," Inumuta said. "If she won't let you now, it'll only be a matter of time before she will. She'll want to see what progress Senketsu has made more than anyone."

"I guess," Sanageyama said. "I'll ask her once we're done with this then. Shouldn't be too long now."

* * *

"Not yet," Satsuki said. "When I _do_ send someone else after her, it won't be you. Once her training is complete, I shall see how she fares against other two-star students before you can face her."

"Yes, Lady Satsuki," Sanageyama said disappointedly.

"I sympathise with your impatience," she said. "But whenever I have acted hastily in the past, it has resulted in failure. I guarantee you that when the wait is over, it will be worth every moment."

Sanageyama couldn't resist a smile. "Yes, Lady Satsuki," he said more enthusiastically.

* * *

_Weeks later…_

"Sheesh…" Mako wiped her brow. "Wasn't the whole point of training montages to condense a huge amount of time like this so that the audience doesn't get bored?"

"Normally, I'd remind you that this wasn't supposed to be a montage, and real-life montages are impossible," Ryuko said. "But after what I've been through lately, you saying that just makes me want to go home and invent it."

"If that's your attitude now," Takaharu said, "I'd hate to see you in an actual match. Considering how long you lasted when we first fought, endurance is pretty important for you."

"I get that," Ryuko said, "but the only way for me to train in that department is to train while Senketsu's activated."

"Is that so?"

Takaharu was filled with equal parts anger and dread when he recognized the voice, and as he turned, he finally found out who had replaced him as president of the boxing club.

Weighing in at 290 pounds, Makoto Kabakingu was generally known as "the big guy" among other members of the boxing club. He wasn't very skilled, but he made up for it in power to the point where he sometimes gave even Takaharu a run for his money.

And now he had a two-star uniform.

"So you've been training this girl, huh?" He leered at her. "Why don't you show me what you've got?"

* * *

A/N: If I ever learned anything about boxing, it was probably from playing too much Punch Out. Hence one of the chapter titles.


	8. Punch-Out, round two!

The second time Ryuko activated Senketsu, she felt a surprising rush in excitement from the sudden boost in strength. Kabakingu could easily tell this from the smirk on her face, and that only made him want to wipe it off. He began with a powerful jab, and Ryuko could tell just from the velocity that blocking wouldn't do her much good, so she leaned to one side and dodged. Before the battle had even begin, she'd figured out that his weak point was his bulging stomach, and so she decided that this opening would be a good opportunity to take advantage of that.

Without wasting any time, she sent an underhanded punch towards his gut, but she was taken by surprise when he almost instantly put his hands in the way, which flinched about as much as a brick wall upon impact. In her shock, Ryuko failed to block in time before he sent her flying with a devastating uppercut.

"Ryuko!" Mako immediately rushed over to her as she landed. "Hang in there, okay?" She frowned when she received no response. _I've got to think of something that'll motivate her. Don't they have something like that in boxing? Something to tell them that time's running… I got it!_

"One! Two! Come on, Ryuko! Three! Fou-!"

Takaharu could have sworn she stopped counting an instant _before_ Ryuko began to force herself off the ground, but even if Mako had continued counting, Ryuko would have been up and ready before she reached ten, so he didn't object. Once she was on her feet, Ryuko began to form her new strategy, still focusing on her opponent's weak spot. She'd have to divert his attention somehow, and working out a way of doing so didn't take her long, but it required her to be quick.

As soon as he prepared to punch her, she brought her left fist towards his face, forcing him to block with his free hand. As expected, this only distracted him from punching her for a moment, and so she instantly threw a punch with her right hand at his unprotected stomach. The moment her fist collided, Kabakingu let out a pained wheeze and prepared to block from any similar attacks, but Ryuko wasn't finished yet. With an additional boost from Senketsu, she kept punching him with speed that the naked eye had no chance of keeping up with, until finally he fell on his back like a collapsing tree.

Without a moment's hesitation, Mako appeared next to him and started counting. "One two three four five-" Kabakingu began to get up. "-six seven eight nine…"

"What's the big idea?" He interrupted. "You took your sweet time counting down when it was her, and you…" He coughed. "...you stopped at the first sign of her getting up! How is that fair?"

"How is anything in this match fair?" Mako said. "Aren't there supposed to be weight classes in boxing or something? She's clearly two or more weight classes below you, and if this was a professional match, they wouldn't allow it at all! _That's_ why I'm giving her a handicap! Haven't you ever heard of compromise?"

Like many of Mako's speeches, she was making this one up as she went along, based entirely on a term she'd overheard Takaharu using a while ago. She didn't even know if she was using it properly, but it seemed to be working.

"You…" Kabakingu looked at Ryuko. "Two or more weight classes…" He screamed incoherently before preparing to punch Mako, which Ryuko leapt towards and blocked almost instantly.

"You can't punch the referee," she said. "That would get you disqualified."

"She is _not_ a referee!" He shouted. "It's a referee's job to make the game fair, and that is not what she's doing!"

"Didn't you listen to anything she said?" Ryuko rolled her eyes before moving in to punch his stomach again, but he quickly blocked just as easily as the first time he'd done so.

"You really expect that to work more than once?" He sneered. "You're gonna have to find another target now."

As much as Ryuko hated to admit it, he was right. He'd caught on to her original strategy, and while she knew nothing else would be as effective, she still had to try. As she expected, any successful blow to his face seemed to do very little, and striking anywhere else accomplished even less. She couldn't tell if she was doing any damage at all to him, and even if she was, he was doing far more to her. In just over a minute, it was clear to everyone watching that Ryuko's greatest challenge at the moment was keeping both of her legs from collapsing.

"I guess this is it then," Kabakingu said. "Don't feel too bad though. You're still the second best challenge I've had. You might even have been the first if I was still a one-sta…"

Before he could finish, a flaming tennis ball collided with his head at roughly half the speed of sound, knocking it right back. Ryuko wasn't as quick to react to this as she normally would have been, but even if she had been, she knew there was only one way she'd be able to finish him in time.

"It's all or nothing now," she said to Senketsu. "Going to have to go into overdrive again."

_Are you serious?!_ He said. _You know what happened last time._

"This time," she said, "it's going to work."

As soon as he allowed her to do so, Ryuko unleashed a flurry of punches to Kabakingu's stomach even faster than before, finishing him in a matter of seconds. The moment he was on the ground, she deactivated Senketsu and began to wobble back and forth, but it wasn't until Mako had reached ten that she allowed herself to collapse, at which point Mako quickly rushed over and caught her.

Once the commotion was finally over, Takaharu turned towards Omiko with an unsure expression on his face. "...You didn't have to help her out like that, you know."

Omiko simply shrugged. "I honestly don't know why I did. What would have happened if I didn't?"

"I guess Satsuki would have confronted him and given him the same demotion she gave me," Takaharu said. "As a matter of fact, that seems to be what's happening now…"

While they were talking, Inumuta and Sanageyama had both appeared and were currently walking across the court. While both Takaharu and Omiko expected them to stop at Kabakingu's unconscious body, they instead walked right past him and approached them instead.

"Omiko Hakodate," Inumuta said. "You are to report to Lady Satsuki's office immediately. Follow me."

* * *

To almost everyone at Honnouji Academy, Satsuki's office had an atmosphere that made them feel unwelcome, even if their presence had been requested. This was exactly how Omiko felt when she entered, particularly because she knew that whatever Satsuki had to say to her would be bad news.

"The information I'm about to reveal to you is completely confidential," Satsuki began. "Even now, I am reluctant to disclose it, but you've left me with no other choice. If I was to withhold this information from you, your punishment would seem unfair."

Omiko was far too afraid to speak, so she simply waited for her to continue.

"The reason Makoto Kabakingu chose to confront Ryuko Senketsu was because we asked him to," Satsuki said. "We wished to see how her combat abilities had improved since her battle with Takaharu Fukuroda, but we were not able to gain any reliable information. Do you know why this is, Omiko Hakodate?"

Omiko knew they both knew the answer to that, and simply lowered her head in shame.

"It's because you chose to intervene. You sabotaged what would otherwise have been a fair fight, and the whole affair was for nothing."

At this point, Omiko was barely listening. Something Satsuki had said carried implications she was still trying to figure out, and when she finally did, fear took a backseat to rage."

"Hold on a minute!" She slammed her hands on the table and leaned towards Satsuki, surprising her but not intimidating her. "You made Takaharu fight her for the same reason, didn't you? He was your guinea pig for seeing what Senketsu was capable of, and when you weren't satisfied with the results, you just demoted him to a no-star lifestyle!"

Satsuki sat in the same position, with the same stoic expression. "He got careless, and could easily have jeopardized what we were planning, just as you did. This is why you were summoned here. From now on, you will no longer be a two-star student, like him."

Omiko opened her mouth to object, but she quickly stopped herself upon feeling a particularly large hand on her shoulder. She knew it belonged to Ira Gamagoori, the brute of the Elite Four, and she knew he wasn't doing it to comfort her. As he lifted her from her seat and walked towards the exit, she tried to concentrate all of the hatred she was feeling into a glare in Satsuki's direction, but the gesture was just as pointless as it had sounded, and Satsuki didn't even look back at her.

When she was dumped outside, Omiko was surprised to find that Takaharu was waiting there for her, and even more surprised when she realized that he seemed to know what had happened. There were many things he could have said at that moment, but his sympathetic look was enough for her, and they soon walked away, intending to break the news to Ryuko and Mako.

* * *

A/N: I wonder how differently this story would've turned out if I'd watched too much _Rocky_ instead of playing too much _Punch Out_.


	9. A Reason to be Suspicious

"So," Omiko said, "did you actually hear anything that was said in there? Because most of what I heard was confidential, but…" She smiled mischievously. "...If you overheard any of that, then there's not much I can do about that."

Takaharu shrugged apologetically. "I didn't hear a thing. I'm pretty sure she's got that room soundproofed, so she can scheme in peace with her cronies while twirling a fake moustache and cackling maniacally."

Omiko laughed uproariously at the mental image. "But how did you know I was demoted then?"

"I just had a hunch," he said, "but I knew I was right when I saw Gamagoori dumping you outside. Even if you'd just walked out, your facial expression still would've said everything."

"I see…" Omiko spent the rest of their walk wondering whether she was easy to read or if Takaharu in particular was good at reading her.

* * *

Once Omiko had explained everything she could to the others, Ryuko was already forming a scheme. She wondered if she could persuade Satsuki to share the confidential information with her, and if so, how that would be accomplished. She'd already drawn parallels between the fight she had just been in and her battle with Takaharu, and upon hearing of Omiko's demotion, she thought back to the reason Takaharu was demoted, and recalled Satsuki vaguely alluding her plans at the time.

Finally, she decided that the best course of action was to simply confront Satsuki about it. After something like this had happened to her twice, she had a right to be suspicious, which in turn gave her a right to receive some answers. If Satsuki tried to avoid the subject, she would lose Ryuko's trust, and she hoped that said trust played a large enough part in her sister's plans to be used as a bargaining chip of sorts.

* * *

"Ryuko Matoi," Satsuki said flatly. "I was not expecting to hear from you so soon."

"When I have a question," Ryuko said, "and I know the answer is within reach, it's only logical for me to reach for that answer at the first opportunity. I'd like you to reveal all you can about my role in this plan of yours I've been hearing about."

After an extended silence, Satuski sighed. "Very well. While our parents were still together, they worked together on a predecessor to your Godrobe."

Ryuko nodded. "I've been told about that. If I'm not mistaken, it's the 'wedding dress' father referred to when he told me how I could convince you I was your sister."

"For a while," Satsuki said, "I debated with myself whether or not I should begin to wear it. With the direction mother's plans have been headed in lately, it could certainly be useful, but I know there are risks. When I first discovered that you also owned a Godrobe, I realized that I could observe it in action and determine two things: how much use my own Godrobe would be, and how much assistance you yourself can offer. Frankly, the results for both have left me very disappointed."

Ryuko frowned. "In a number of ways, I have to agree. However, I'm sure even you can see the progress I've made between the two battles you've arran-" She suddenly stopped herself upon reaching the same conclusion Omiko had reached earlier. "...Isn't demotion a bit much? They had no way of knowing that what they did would interfere with your plans."

"Let me put it this way," the short pink haired girl stood from her chair and walked over to Ryuko. "Say you have a pet. Now, let's say you're having dinner, and the pet notices this and decides it wants a taste. When it climbs onto the table, you can remove it, but it's still going to climb back on unless you discipline it. That's what Satsuki's doing here. She's letting them know that what they did was wrong, and they shouldn't do it again. If they're smart, they won't do it again."

Ryuko still had her objections, but chose to remain quiet. This girl seemed like someone it would be infuriatingly hopeless to argue with, regardless of whether or not she was right.

"Thank you, Nonon," Satsuki said. "As for the point you were making before you were sidetracked, you haven't been improving quickly enough for my liking. I intend to check on you once more at least a month from now, but if I'm still not satisfied with the results, you will be deemed useless, and I will refuse to cooperate with you. And without my help, you won't stand a chance against mother."

Ryuko took a moment to take in what she'd learned from this. "I understand. I'll be leaving now."

Satsuki waited until Ryuko had closed the door behind her before saying "Farewell."

* * *

Before making a speech to the students at Honnouji Academy, Satsuki would plant her sword, known as "Bakuzan", into the ground, leaning firmly on it. Sanageyama had noticed how the gesture commanded respect from people, and he had recently begun to imitate it with his bamboo sword, to the same effect.

"Members of the tennis club," he said. "I have a number of announcements to make, so listen carefully. First of all: The incident you saw between Ryuko Senketsu and the Boxing Club President is not to leave this court. You are to keep it a secret from anyone, and I'd go so far as to advise that you don't discuss it amongst yourselves either. As I speak, Houka Inumuta is in the process of editing the CCTV footage, and by the end of the day no evidence will be left behind. Do you understand?"

The members of the club nodded.

"Secondly," he said, "Omiko Hakodate is no longer the president of this club, and discussion of her is also not advised." He watched as they nodded again. "Finally, a tournament will be held starting tomorrow to determine the new club president. I advise that you all start practicing for this tournament."

They nodded a third time, and Mako in particular had a spark of determination in her eye.

* * *

"So it seems that Satsuki is also working against Ragyo," Ryuko said. "But she won't accept my help unless she's satisfied with my combat abilities."

Isshin stroked his beard and hummed thoughtfully. "It's good to hear that she's fighting for the right side… but her methods are questionable. She could be our key to victory, or the cause of our demise. Do you know what kind of improvement she's hoping to see from you?"

"What she wants is for me to win a battle without collapsing from blood loss," Ryuko said. "And the only way I'll be able to manage that is to ensure that my own skills are proportionate to the skills I gain from Senketsu. And that means I just have to keep training."

"Speaking of which," Isshin said, "There's another area you may want to start training in. It may not have helped you today, but I'm sure it will in the future. Is there a kendo club in your school, or something along those lines?"

"I'm pretty sure there is," Ryuko said. "Are you suggesting…?"

"Yes," he said. "As soon as you're able to do so, you're going to learn how to properly wield the scissor blade."

* * *

A/N: Sometimes writing a new chapter takes over a week. Sometimes it takes a day.


	10. Mako is the President!

At first, Ryuko had some considerable difficulty finding a Kendo club, but as she asked more people, she found that one response in particular was given more often than others.

"Why don't you just ask Satsuki? If she lets you talk to her whenever you feel like it, you might as well take advantage of that."

Ryuko wasn't sure how this would help, as if there was already one for Satsuki to point her to, it wouldn't have been this difficult to find in the first place. But after over an hour of asking people, she finally decided to swallow her pride and consult her about it.

"No," Satsuki said, "we don't have such a club. But if if you want somebody to teach you, that would be Sanageyama's specialty. At the moment, he's currently overseeing the tournament at the tennis club."

After thanking her and leaving, Ryuko was very tempted to bang her head against the wall. The tennis club was where her search had begun, and in hindsight, she was especially frustrated that nobody had told her that Sanageyama was the Athletic Committee Chair, and the first person anyone who knew that would have consulted.

"You want to learn Kendo now?" Sanageyama frowned. "Shouldn't you be focusing on boxing?"

"I am," Ryuko said. "The plan is to practice that for two days and then practice Kendo every third day… If you're willing to teach me, that is."

Sanageyama simply grinned. He'd always sought a worthy opponent, and what better way was there to gain one than to teach them the rules of your game?

"You got it," he said. "But keep in mind, this won't be easy like your training with Fukuroda's been."

"Clearly," Ryuko said, "you haven't seen my training with him."

Sanageyama simply laughed. "Oh, I've seen it. Very little gets past these eyes of mine. Speaking of which..." He leaned to one side and looked past her. "Looks like the Tennis Club has a new president."

Any response Ryuko could have given was immediately drowned out by Mako's enthusiastic cheering, and just as she was wondering why Sanageyama was slowly back away, she felt Mako tackling her from behind and squealing "I won!" over and over.

Ryuko was rather surprised to find that she couldn't say 'congratulations' with her face pressed against the ground, so she turned her head and tried again. "G-good job…"

Mako's arms tightened around her. "Aw, thanks Ryuko! Even if you're not a member, you'll always be welcome in this club! And while I'm at it, so will Omiko and Takaharu!"

Sanageyama frowned. "If you insist. Not really much we can do about that unless you make her an official member."

"Awesome!" Mako said. "Hold on while I go tell them, okay?" She immediately ran away, as if she had left the stove on elsewhere several hours ago. Which, Ryuko noted, was exactly the kind of thing she'd do.

* * *

As the weeks went by, Ryuko found herself admitting that Sanageyama was right about two things. The first was that his training was much harder than Takaharu's, and the second was that _nothing_ got past those eyes of his. He could always tell exactly what she was going to do from the slightest movement, and unlike Takaharu, he actually encouraged her to have Senketsu activated while they sparred. More often than not, she found herself surrendering to him just so she wouldn't have to overexert herself.

Meanwhile, Omiko was in the process of teaching everything she knew to Mako, and while the latter initially suggested that she didn't wear her Ultima Uniform for the sake of a fair match, Omiko's curiosity eventually got the better of her, and she asked to see what Mako was capable of with the uniform.

What she saw surprised her, to say the least.

Mako wasn't _quite_ at Omiko's level while wearing the Ultima Uniform, but she was frighteningly close. The reason this was so worrying to her was because Omiko had a passion for tennis for as long as she could remember, while Mako originally joined the club just because there wasn't a club for literature or surgery.

"I don't get it either," Mako admitted sheepishly. "I honestly think this thing suits you better than me, but even then, a lot of the stuff I can do with it just comes naturally to me. I really wish I could explain it better, because this whole thing just seems so unfair for you!"

While Omiko certainly agreed with this, and even found herself resenting her replacement at times, Mako's sympathy softened the blow somewhat. "It _is_ unfair," she said, "but that's Satsuki's fault, not yours. Someone had to win the tournament, and that someone turned out to be you."

"Yeah…" Mako sighed. "In a lot of ways, being a no-star student was easier."

* * *

"Two swords at once," Sanageyama repeated flatly. "One in each hand. You know, that's not exactly Kendo."

"It's a skill I'll need to learn eventually," Ryuko said. "Considering what I've seen you do these past few weeks, I figured you'd be the best person to go to for that as well."

"I guess," he said. "There _is_ actually a form of Kendo with two swords, but it's mainly practiced by advanced students. I don't think you're at that level just yet, but given how quickly you've been learning, I'd give it a month or two at the very least."

Ryuko tilted her head. "Is it really that hard?"

"Put it this way," he said. "It's a lot harder than you might think to accurately use two weapons at once. Wielding two guns is impressive in a movie, but impractical in real life. Even I can only manage it thanks to the enhanced awareness granted by my Ultima Uniform."

"I thought it'd be something like that," Ryuko said. "Lately, it feels like the solution to a lot of my problems has been 'just keep training'."

"That's how it works," Sanageyama said teasingly. "Of course, training harder is also important."

While Ryuko initially protested that that was exactly what she was trying to do, she spent their next few sessions trying to go beyond her limits, which were constantly changing as a result of Takaharu's training. Over time, her endurance and natural ability improved to the point where she could best both of her trainers in sparring without being moments away from losing consciousness, and just as Sanageyama had predicted, she was ready to train with two swords in just under two months.

With the basics finally down, the only step left for Ryuko was to master what she felt was the most important part: wielding the scissor blades together. To make her dedication to this goal clear, she put her boxing training on hold spent practically all of her free time training with Sanageyama. He could tell she was in a hurry to master this technique just as she had mastered others, which is why he advised her repeatedly not to rush it. However, Ryuko was getting too confident to properly heed this advice.

"I don't suppose you know when Satsuki's planning to test me again," she said one day.

Sanageyama shook his head. "Even if I did, I couldn't tell you."

"And that's why I need to be ready as soon as possible!" She snapped. "I already have a good idea of what I'm dealing with, and I know that against the best of them, what I have now isn't enough."

Sanageyama took a while to ponder his response. When she first asked to train under him, he planned to make her his ideal rival, he saw her more as his student as the training progressed. There were even times when he felt that it would be more satisfying for him to be defeated by her one day, as it would give him a reason to be proud. But he would never admit these thoughts out loud.

With a drawn-out sigh, he finally spoke again. "I'll give you two choices. You can either be more patient in your training, or you can stop it altogether. I'm really hoping you'll choose the first one, but right now, the other's looking more likely."

This was finally enough to leave Ryuko speechless. During this silence, it occurred to her that, if worse came to worst, she could give Sanageyama the scissor blades and count on him, but this just left her with another dilemma. She still wasn't completely sure she could trust him, and even if she could, Satsuki could easily exploit that trust for whatever purpose she wanted. Finally, she concluded that she had no choice, and, echoing his sigh, she lowered her head in defeat.

"Fine," she said. "I'll keep training, and I'll try to be patient. If I don't have time to learn everything I need to, then… so be it."

If Ryuko knew that Satsuki didn't intend to test her before she was ready, she probably would have screamed.

* * *

A/N: For those of you who predicted that Mako would be the president: Well _yeah_ she's the best at everything.


	11. An Eye For an Eye

"Lady Satsuki... She's ready."

Satsuki cast an intrigued glance in Sanageyama's direction. "You're sure of this?"

"I'm sure," he said, neglecting to mention his reasoning if only to avoid the damage it would do to his ego if he did. "So I assume you'll be hosting the Naturals Election soon?"

"I will," she said. "But there's been a slight change of plan. Instead of it beginning with a simple free-for-all, it's going to progress more like an actual tournament. While Ryuko Senketsu has certainly shown promise, I have since realized that she is not alone in this regard. As such, I will be giving such students as Mako Mankanshoku and Makoto Kabakingu the same chance I'll be giving her."

"Understood." Sanageyama nodded before turning and leaving.

* * *

Although she was more loyal to Ragyo's cause than anyone else could ever hope to be, Rei Hououmaru was still frustrated with the fact that she was always the one Ragyo went to for assorted menial tasks, including, on this particular occasion, babysitting Nui. Both Ragyo and Rei knew that such a job would only be possible if Nui allowed it to be, but for a while now, things were going rather well. Even when Nui left her hospital bed, she didn't go very far, and the only reason she did in the first place was out of spite. At worst, Rei would find a dead animal outside her office, and Nui would be laughing like a hyena next time they met.

Rei was feeling rather optimistic as she entered the hospital wing, thinking she'd seen the worst of it already. She casually announced that dinner was here, but as she got closer to the bed, she noticed many telltale signs that the lump under the covers was not actually Nui, and indeed, removing the cover revealed an entire pile of dead animals, some of which were too horribly mutilated for her to identify.

"Nui?" She said sternly. "What are you up to this time?"

With a brief sigh, she began to search the room, and soon she found Nui's bandages under the bed, with a message on them in what presumably wasn't her blood. It was impressively written for a blind person, but Rei still needed a minute or two to properly decipher it.

"see you soon bitches! 8D"

Rei adjusted her glasses and sighed again. She'd come to identify 'toodles' as Nui's preferred farewell, and it didn't take her long to conclude why she'd chosen something different for this message, not to mention why she'd used an emoticon.

"But how does she intend to do it?" She muttered. "This should be interesting…"

* * *

As he headed home, Sanageyama's senses were troubling him, even though he had no idea what they were trying to say to him. If someone was there to ask him if he could easily explain what was wrong, he would have answered, "my spider-sense is tingling." His unease got much worse when he encountered a small girl standing in the middle of the road, facing away from him and seemingly unaware of her surroundings. The only movement she made was a slowly growing smile, but Sanageyama had no way of noticing this.

"Uzu Sanageyama?" She said.

Sanageyama hesitated to answer. "...Do I know you?"

"I'd be very impressed if you did." She giggled slightly.

"So how do you know me then?" He said, the rest of his body begging him to let it turn and run.

"Because you have something I want…" She began to turn around, and Sanageyama finally began to realize why he should have been running. Once her face was revealed, his attention was immediately drawn to her hollow, seemingly infinite eye sockets, with dried blood around the edges. In a hasty effort to avert his gaze from the two voids, he looked lower down, and what would otherwise have been an unsettling grin was actually a sight for sore eyes, so to speak.

As he continued to stare, an unexpected movement forced his attention back to her eyes. A number of writhing appendages were emerging from each sockets, and if Sanageyama wasn't mistaken, they were raw Life Fibers, all of them moving with a mind of their own. It was like nothing he'd ever seen, and he hoped never to see it again. Little did he realize that Nui would soon be granting that wish.

"Give me your eyes!"

The threads latched onto his eyes, each of them feeling like a hot poker to him. He briefly wondered if she wanted him to beg to be rid of them as soon as possible, but he couldn't even try this because he simply couldn't stop screaming. If he _could_ stop, then he would have heard her giggling uncontrollably in a way that, from anyone else, might almost have sounded innocent and carefree.

When Sanageyama came to hours later, he experienced the bizarre sensation of waking up without being able to open his eyes, and when he remembered what had happened, he was horrified to realize that this was the first of many times he'd experience this sensation.

* * *

"Ryuko, Ryuko! Did you hear?"

Ryuko struggled to resist a smile as Mako approached her. "You mean the Naturals Election? Yes, I've heard about that."

"Yeah, that," Mako said. "I kind of forgot when the preliminaries were. Do you remember?"

"Well I don't want to alarm you," Ryuko said, "but they're this afternoon. Blame Satsuki for doing this on such short notice, I guess."

Mako's response was just as exaggerated as Ryuko expected. "Eeeehhh?! But I haven't been preparing at all! All I've been doing is practicing surgery!"

Ryuko's smile finally broke through. "I'm sure you'll be fine. I've been working on other things too. Speaking of which…" She saw Takaharu and Omiko walking together and called out to them, causing them to run over to her and Mako.

"So I've been working on something to help you both with the tournament," she said. "I wasn't able to make much, since my Life Fiber supply is considerably more limited than Satsuki's, but it should get you both through the preliminaries." She reached into the bag she was carrying and produced a pair of boxing gloves for Takaharu and a racket and ball for Omiko, all of which consisted mostly of Life Fibers.

"Now these gloves…" Ryuko said. "...It's taken a while, but my father's found a way to make Life Fibers expand like a balloon, while still being as durable as always. This won't necessarily make your punches stronger, but it will mean you're less likely to miss. And Hakodate… I've managed to 'program' this ball so that once it hits something, it'll come back to the racket, so… I hope that's helpful."

"How can it _not_ be helpful?" Mako said. "It's like, imagine if all tennis games were played with boomerangs instead of balls. It'd be awesome! It'd be… it'd be…" A sudden wave of lucidity and reason washed over her. "...it'd be a mess. ...Well! Best of luck to everyone! If it was possible, I'm sure you'd all win."

As Ryuko watched her skip the rest of her way to school, she felt something she didn't fully understand. It felt like a premonition that everything was going to be okay, but she knew she had no logical reason to believe that.

_It's always nice to see her putting you at ease,_ Senketsu said.

Ryuko grabbed the hem of her skirt and dug her fingernails into it, causing him to let out a screech of pain. Immediately afterwards, her mood felt considerably sourer, but she couldn't pinpoint the exact moment that had happened.

* * *

A/N: I love to get feedback. I don't care if it's positive or negative, just so long as it's meaningful.


	12. Punch-Out, round three!

When Satsuki received the results for the preliminaries, she was concerned, to say the least.

Of course, the results themselves weren't the main reason for this, but rather the fact that Sanageyama hadn't been there to participate, and she still hadn't heard from him. What made this worse was the knowledge that Nui had escaped on the same day, giving her a good idea of what had happened that she couldn't safely share with anyone else who may have been concerned about him. Regardless, she'd gathered the rest of the Elite Four and Ryuko into her office to see if they could offer any useful information, but this evidently wasn't the case.

"It seems this meeting hasn't been as enlightening as I'd hoped," she concluded. "The Naturals Election will be beginning shortly."

"Lady Satsuki!" Gamagoori raised his hand. "If I may ask, has the order of the tournament been decided yet?"

"It has not," she said. "When I do, it will be chosen at random."

"In that case," he said, "I would like to make a request: If I am to be involved in the first match, I would like you to consider choosing again. Before I even think about this tournament, I insist that I search for Sanageyama."

"Very well," Satsuki said. "Your match will be delayed until your return."

"I'd like to make the same request," Ryuko said. "If nothing else, I feel obligated to help search for him."

"I have no objection to this," Satsuki said. "When you are ready, you may both begin your search for him."

Just as she expected, they were ready as soon as she said that, and left accordingly. She could only hope they wouldn't find Nui.

* * *

The order of the tournament had been decided. As it just so happened, Ryuko and Gamagoori would be facing off in the second match, but Satsuki made it clear that could be delayed and shifted elsewhere.

"The first match shall be between Takaharu Fukuroda and Makoto Kabakingu," she said. "Although I did not plan this particular matchup, there will be special conditions for it: The match will follow the same rules as a traditional boxing match, and if Takaharu Fukuroda should win, he will regain his title as the president of the Boxing Club."

Takaharu stepped into the ring and grinned. "Now those are rules I can agree to. How about you?"

Kabakingu entered the other side and mirrored his expression. "I don't see why she bothered with the second one. I'd say it was to get your hopes up so it's even more painful when you lose, but even for her, that's cruel."

Towards the end of this speech, Takaharu's fist had found its way towards Kabakingu's gut, but now, he was trying desperately to hold it in his other hand, which wasn't at all easy with boxing gloves.

"Oh, are we starting?" Kabakingu said. "Here, allow me." He threw a surprisingly quick punch, which Takaharu only managed to dodge at the last second.

"What have you been _eating?_" He said.

"Oh, the usual." Kabakingu chuckled. "As I'm sure you know, it's important to get plenty of iron…" He reached down and lifted his shirt slightly, revealing a sheet of metal molded to cover his stomach. "Gamagoori made this for me. Pretty impressive, huh?"

Takaharu simply sighed in disgust. Kabakingu would do anything to get out of losing weight. Still, he knew that if he was to remove that protection, he had to work out what was keeping it on in the first place. The question was, how would he even begin to find out?

* * *

Gamagoori quickly proved to be more useful than Ryuko in searching for Sanageyama, because he actually know the route Sanageyama took home. She would have been surprised by how long the journey was, if not for the fact that she already knew him to be the adventurous type.

"So has anything like this ever happened before?" She said.

"To him?" Gamagoori said. "No. However, Lady Satsuki has been absent for extended periods of time, and she has refused to speak of them."

"And that doesn't make you curious?" Ryuko said.

"It is not my place to question her," he said firmly.

Ryuko rolled her eyes and let the conversation end there. She had no idea why she tried making conversation with him when he was so dull that even Mako "Friend to All" Mankanshoku wouldn't bother with him.

Minutes later, she remembered why: it was to take her mind of the anxiety she was feeling.

"Senketsu… Ira…?"

Ryuko saw Sanageyama, and, for the first time since infancy, she screamed. In response, he grit his teeth and hastily covered his ears, due to his remaining senses assaulting him constantly ever since he woke up. Besides that scream, it was the cold that was bothering him the most at the moment.

"Sanageyama!" Gamagoori said. "What happened to your uniform?"

"I… I just woke up like this…" he said. "Before that, I… I… oh god, it hurts just to _remember_…"

Ryuko walked over to something that caught her attention and picked it up. "A severed life fiber… I think I know what happened to your uniform… but who could even do something like that?"

Sanageyama responded with a detailed description of the perpetrator, and it was at that point that Ryuko was really scared.

"It can't be…" she said. "She's the one who tried to kill my father. I severely damaged her eyes, but… I didn't remove them completely. If she's loose, and she…" She shuddered. "...has your eyes, then we're all in serious danger."

Gamagoori knelt down and picked up Sanageyama's body. "We have to get him back to the academy. Once he's there, he can get the medical attention he needs."

* * *

"So the Naturals Election has begun," Sanageyama said as they approached the academy.

"There's no need to concern yourself with it," Gamagoori said. "For now, you should focus on resting."

"After what's happened, I don't know if I can," he said. "I'm just… completely aware of everything, for miles. ...The first match is between Fukuroda and Kabakingu, I see. ...Ira, did you make that metal guard for Kabakingu's stomach?"

Even from Sanageyama, this level of awareness was astounding, so Gamagoori took a while to respond. "...yes."

"It doesn't fit," Sanageyama said.

Gamagoori raised an eyebrow. "I had it molded specifically for his physique. Is it too loose, or too tight?"

"I think you already know the answer to that," he smirked. "He's got it taped on right now, but it's working."

Gamagoori's face contorted in disgust. "Once I've delivered you to Satsuki, he shall be disciplined."

* * *

Takaharu wasn't sure how much longer he could last. The only thing he could do that wasn't completely futile was defend, and even that was steadily draining his stamina. He was running out of options, and it soon occurred to him that maybe Satsuki really _was_ getting his hopes up so she could crush him. Only a miracle could save him now…

...but he was perfectly okay settling for Gamagoori's timely intervention instead.

"Makoto Kabakingu!" He yelled. "I will tolerate your indolence no longer!"

With nobody brave enough to stop him, he stepped into the ring, bringing the fight to a pause.

"When you refused to rid yourself of your weakness by losing weight," he continued, "I made a compromise. In doing so, I gave you an advantage in this battle that you clearly do not deserve! You will return it to me, or you will be disqualified from this tournament!"

Faced with a choice of either certain loss or probable loss, Kabakingu reluctantly chose the latter, and allowed Gamagoori to remove his protection with an effortless pull. After thanking him for his cooperation with a simple nod, Gamagoori left the ring and allowed the fight to resume.

_Now or never,_ Takaharu thought. As soon as Kabakingu was about to punch him with one hand, Takaharu threw a quicker punch towards his face, forcing him to block with his free hand. Now that Takaharu was the only one with a hand free, he brought it towards Kabakingu's stomach, immediately causing him to double over. Once he was moderately upright again, Takaharu wasted no time in delivering as many punches as he could to his stomach before finally watching him collapse. Nonon, who had taken Satsuki's place as the referee, sounded very uninterested as she counted to ten, but she was still more fair than Mako.

"Okay, so you win," she concluded. "I guess you'll be getting your uniform back soon, but really it's down to Satsuki, so we'll see what she says. Anyway, the next match is…" She reached for a piece of paper and looked over it. "...Ryuko Senketsu versus Ira Gamagoori. Let's just hope they give us an interesting fight."

As Ryuko approached the ring, she took one last look at her opponent, noting to herself that he was easily the most intimidating of the Elite Four, and how she knew nothing about how he fought.

But in spite of this, she still knew that she would not let him beat her. Not in any way conceivable.

* * *

A/N: Originally, Takaharu was going to win by himself, but then I couldn't think of a way for him to work out how to remove the cover.


	13. Rap Off!

"Mister Gamagoori," Ryuko said flatly. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you _want_ me to to attack you."

_She's catching on,_ Gamagoori thought, his Ultima Uniform currently preventing any sort of movement save for that of his tongue, which he had no use for at the moment.

"Does your uniform have a state where it's just ready to automatically counter any attack?" She said. "Do you get stronger the more damage you take or something? What happens if I just pick you up and drop you outside the ring?"

In response to this, a number of tentacle-like appendages emerged from the uniform, causing Sanageyama to shudder from within his medical wing. Before Ryuko could say anything, they all began to move frantically, rapidly striking the body from which they emerged.

"If you can still hear me over all that," Ryuko said, "you're a freak."

As soon as it was finally over, the uniform transformed once more, this time into something considerably more mobile. While certainly more threatening than before, Ryuko was still unimpressed.

"Is it safe to attack you yet?" She said.

"You're welcome to try," Gamagoori said.

Ryuko grinned confidently as she split the Scissor Blade in two, a sinister glint reflecting from the sharpest point of each. Without wasting a moment, she rushed towards him and had both blades close in on the midsection…

...only to be met with a pair of unsatisfying 'clunk' sounds.

"Okay, not the best demonstration of these," she said casually. "Normally, they can cut right through life fibers and stop them from regenerating." She looked up at him hopefully. "You'll take my word for it, right?"

Gamagoori refused, mainly because the alternative was rather frightening to consider. He chose to voice this refusal by punching her across the ring.

"Ryuko!" Mako cried. "If you lose to him now, someone else will have to fight him in the next round! And I don't want to fight a pervert with an old man face!"

As ridiculous as it was, Mako's logic got through to Ryuko once again and gave her the motivation to continue. While she hadn't lost just yet, having still not touched the ground outside the ring, she'd have to come up with something new and very risky if she wanted to come back. And she happened to have an idea that was just crazy enough to work.

"Senketsu Gale!" With that command, her outfit assumed a more streamlined form and began soaring back towards the ring. When she finally returned, Gamagoori was sweating bullets at the sight of her, leading her to come to a realization.

"There must be some kind of opening," she said, "otherwise it'd be hell in there right now, even for a freak like him. If we can find the opening, it might just be possible to attack him from the inside…"

_You're not thinking of sending _me _in there, are you?_ Senketsu said.

Ryuko simply laughed. "Well I wouldn't fit in there, would I?"

_She really is talking to it,_ Gamagoori thought. _...She was talking to it when we first met. Why didn't I bring that up when Inumuta was discussing that possibility?_

In spite of the screams that only she could hear, Ryuko removed a single thread from Senketsu and threw it, allowing it to latch on to Gamagoori's uniform. As he struggled, it slithered along until it finally found an opening, at which point it reluctantly slid inside. For a while, nothing happened, but eventually, he felt an intense needle-like pain under one of his fingernails that only got worse as time went on.

Ryuko smiled cruelly at him as she brandished the scissor blades. "Your connection to your uniform's weakening," she said. "I could probably cut it to ribbons now, but I'll let you keep it if you surrender."

Gamagoori grunted defiantly, and Ryuko shrugged before advancing towards him with the intent to make good on her promise. She positioned one of the blades carefully, pondering the most practical place to cut, when finally…

"I give in, I give in! Just make it stop, please!"

Ryuko looked over at Nonon. "You heard that, right?"

"Yeah, yeah…" She nodded. "Just get it over with. The sooner he stops whining, the better."

Ryuko turned back to Gamagoori and held out her hand, ready to catch the thread she'd sent. She shuddered slightly as it returned to her palm, and for a moment, she felt the same discomfort Senketsu had been feeling this whole time.

_When we get home,_ he said, _we are planning for a potential rematch, and I will not let you sleep until we have at least ten alternatives to what we did today._

Ryuko laughed again as she left the ring. "Don't be such a big baby."

* * *

"Okay, okay." Nonon looked at the sheet of paper again. "The next match is Mako Mankanshoku versus… Oh, you have got to be kidding. Me versus the underachiever. Yeah, that's fair. I hope she enjoys it while it lasts. I know I will."

She made an exaggerated yawning gesture as she walked casually towards the ring, where Mako was already warming up. Having a feeling that Ryuko would object if she tried to make this more unfair than it already was, she gave a half hearted "ready when you are" before hitting her over the head with a conductor's baton.

Mako, who hadn't been paying full attention until that point, let out a small yelp before pouting at her, more shocked than physically harmed. She prepared a tennis racket and ball, only for them to be quickly knocked out of her hands by an intense burst of noise. A brief glance upwards revealed that Nonon had already activated her Ultima Uniform, and was in the process of charging something much more devastating.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Mako formed a 'time out' gesture with her hands. "Hold on a minute, okay?"

With an intrigued smirk, Nonon returned to the ground. "Giving up already, are we?"

She wasn't actually sure what happened after that question, but it looked like Mako was snapping a white flag in half over her knee, hiding behind a pile of sandbags with a machine gun and a green helmet, lying in a half-open coffin, offering a wedding ring, and finally holding a microphone and a boombox.

"No, no, no, I'm not surrendering at all! What I'm saying is, since I don't stand a chance in an actual battle, we should find a different form of battle! I'm proposing something I'm sure we'll both be good at: a rap battle!"

After finally shaking off her confusion, Nonon's intrigued expression returned. "Have it your way. Just give me a beat, and we can get started."

Mako tilted her head. "With what?"

"What do you mean, 'with what'?" Nonon said. "I may not fully understand what you were doing earlier, but I'm certain I saw you holding a boombox!"

Mako's head stayed tilted. "What?"

Nonon's eye twitched before finally she let out a roar of frustration. "Inumuta! Do you have anything on that laptop of yours we can rap to?"

"Sure," he said, barely looking up from the screen. "Just give me a minute…"

Senketsu gave a disappointed sigh. At this rate, he'd never get to showcase his excellent beatboxing skills.

As soon as the computer was connected to a large pair of speakers, he pressed play, and Nonon was ready to begin thrashing Mako again.

"Listen underachiever, you had better believe-ah  
that a change in fighting style isn't gonna relieve ya!  
You say a typical fight just isn't your cup of tea,  
but if you think this is safer, well just wait and see!

I've read up on your family, it says your daddy's a surgeon,  
but not even he can save you from dying a virgin!  
Because your rapping's just as pitiful as your low grades,  
When I'm done with this verse, they'd better get you first aid.

Finally, let's talk about the tennis club. I've got some things to say.  
The old president had a passion for it, but with you it doesn't look that way!  
I don't think you deserve that position at all, you're just in for the power.  
And now it's your turn at bat, this ought to take an hour."

Mako took a deep breath. She was going to need every trick in the book if she was going to win this.

"Look into the sky, it's a bird, it's a plane!  
It's Mako Mankanshoku, two can play at this game!  
Before you even hear me, you're already doubting my skills,  
but now that I've started, you should be writing your wills!

Your rhymes sound like they were stolen from a donkey!  
I could rhyme that with a racial slur, but I won't. Take that.  
Seriously though, I'm not impressed with your rhymes.  
You're like the kind of person who rhymes 'rhymes' with 'times'.

No matter how many times the ball bounces, it seems,  
no matter how many times, there's no bones in ice cream.  
Bill Murray, Bill Cosby, Bill Clinton, Bill Nye!  
I'm done playing around, so prepare to fr…"

"Die!"

Mako casually turned towards the sound of the voice. "See, I could have gone there, but I figured it was a little harsh, so…" She was interrupted by a sudden blow to the torso, leaving her on the ground gasping for air.

* * *

Throughout much of the tournament, Sanageyama was explaining to Satsuki exactly what she was missing. While she was unamused by the direction Mako and Nonon's battle had taken, she would have gladly endured it all day after hearing why it had been interrupted.

"She's here," Sanageyama breathed. "The one who did this... she's here."

* * *

A/N: ...the hell?


	14. Going Berserk

"It's been way too long since I killed a human!" Nui said cheerfully, with an easily noticeable hint of frustration. "Animals just don't do it for me, you know? It's like they don't even have souls."

Both Mako and Nonon had already heard enough. They both prepared to attack, but Nui simply walked between the two of them and extended her index fingers. After inserting a nail into a gap in each of the uniforms, she pulled, and there was nothing left of them. Finally, she prepared to finish them off…

...when suddenly, she was tackled from behind by Ryuko and Satsuki, both wearing their Godrobe.

"Both of you, get out of here!" Satsuki said. "You have no idea what we're dealing with here."

Nui calmly lifted herself from the ground. "Oh, and you two do? I don't think you realize what I can do with these eyes."

"Why do you think we attacked you from behind?" Ryuko said. "Oh, and also…" She drew the scissor blades. "Do _these_ look familiar?"

"You got lucky last time you used those," Nui said. "Now I can tell we've both improved since then, but this time, luck won't help you one bit."

Ryuko wasted no time in testing that claim, and she soon found that while Nui certainly wasn't used to the enhanced awareness granted by her new eyes, she was much better at predicting the techniques Ryuko had developed to confuse Sanageyama.

But unlike Sanageyama, Nui didn't have a weapon to parry with, leaving her with no option other than dodging. While she did happen to be excellent at that, she had nothing to offer in terms of offense. She could easily have killed Mako or Nonon with her bare hands, but Ryuko and Satsuki would be far more troublesome, and all she could really do was try to wear them out.

But as she was waiting for this, she noticed another opportunity. The first time she fought against Ryuko, she'd tried to claim one of the scissor blades for herself, which didn't end well for her. Normally, such a result would encourage her not to try again, but it occurred to her later than she would have cared to admit that her chances were much better this time.

With a spinning flip that would make a number of acrobats jealous, Nui landed atop Ryuko's head with seemingly no weight at all, snatching away one of the scissor blades in the confusion. Another backflip landed her behind both Ryuko and Satsuki, putting her in the perfect position to stab the former in the back.

But just as she prepared to do so, she noticed a life fiber-infused tennis ball hurtling towards her at a speed few could react to, and when she effortlessly turned and caught it, she saw Mako clad in a no-star gym uniform, wielding a tennis racket borrowed from Omiko and glaring furiously at her.

"I don't care what you are or what you can do," she said. "I won't let you hurt Ryuko!"

"Is that so?" Nui ducked under Ryuko's scissor blade before advancing towards Mako. Nothing Ryuko or Satsuki did could slow her down, even if she was forced to dodge from time to time, until finally, she somehow appeared behind Mako and held the scissor blade up to her throat.

"Nothing personal now," she giggled unsettlingly. "You're not the one who forced me to spend two and a half months in a hospital bed. But if you're going to stand between me and the person who _is_ responsible for that…" The blade came closer to Mako's neck, causing her eyes to close tightly.

Ryuko's quickening pulse was beginning to drown out all other sound. She had never been this terrified or furious in her life, and the knowledge of what could happen as a result of that only made her more anxious. When developing the Godrobe, she'd discovered the risk of entering its "berserk" state, and she knew it wouldn't be pleasant. But at the same time, she knew about the power she'd have in such a state, and she knew that that power could be the only way to save Mako.

"Senketsu," she whispered, "I'm sorry…"

If he responded to that, she didn't hear him over the sound of her own transformation, and in a matter of seconds, all reason had left her. Being in the Godrobe's berserk state was even worse than she'd imagined, with the only sensation she could feel being comparable to drowning in boiling water. The temperature increased a hundredfold with every passing moment, and each of those moments felt ten times as long as the last.

But now she could save Mako, and that was still her highest priority.

* * *

"Iori!"

"What is it, Sanageyama?" Iori turned away from his work. "You should still be resting!"

"There's no time for that," he said. "I know you've finished my new Ultima Uniform, so give it to me. Things are going to hell out there!"

Iori, like anyone else, was understandably unnerved by the extent of Sanageyama's new abilities. "Well, if you think you can do it… There's not really much I can do to stop you."

Sanageyama began to depart before suddenly stopping and turning again. "One last thing… Jakuzure and Mankanshoku are going to need new Ultima Uniforms as soon as possible." Without waiting for a response, he turned and left.

* * *

"Kinue…" Aikuro spoke quietly into his cellphone, but it was easy to detect the panic in his voice. "Our worst fears have come true. Gather the necessary equipment and come here as soon as you can."

* * *

Satsuki was already afraid when she was told that Nui would be here, even if she didn't show it. But with Ryuko's unexpected transformation, she was faced with something new and unfamiliar, and that increased her fear to the point that anyone could have noticed it. It was clear to her that whatever had happened to her sister happened because of the Godrobe, and this lead her to reconsider wearing her own. Once again, her father's last words to her echoed in her head.

"_This will be your wedding dress… but when you put it on, you will become a slave to clothing."_

"Was this what you meant…?" She murmured. "Could that thing be me?"

While she was much better at hiding it, even Nui was afraid of Ryuko's transformation, as its movements seemed to have no rhyme or reason, making it much harder to predict. One of the scissor blades was crudely grafted onto its arm, and it seemed to be trying to reclaim the other. And with each swipe, it came closer to its goal.

"What's the matter? Even if I still had my eyes, I could dodge that no problem."

Nui could risk turning towards Sanageyama, but she responded nonetheless. "It's not my fault these things take so long to get used to! If they weren't so overwhelming at first, you wouldn't have woken up from that little nap!"

"I guess I should be thankful then." He smirked. "I'm sure you wish you could kill me right now, but if you tried, you probably wouldn't manage in time."

"Shut up!" She screamed. "I'll get the opportunity sooner or later, and when I do…" She interrupted herself with a yelp of surprise as he knocked the scissor blade out of her hands with a precise swing of his sword. As she tried to leap after it, he wrapped his arms around her in an effort to restrain her, doing his best to ignore the pain when she tried to bite his arm off.

Finally, the monster that used to be Ryuko attached the scissor blade to her other arm, and was clear to everyone watching that it would stay there until Nui's head was permanently detached from her body. Nui was really panicking now, and her train of thought was focused on who she could possibly kill in a final act of spite. As she was deciding between Mako and Sanageyama, she felt a hand grab her collar and pull upward, until both Ryuko and the ground became increasingly distant.

"What the hell!" Nui looked up at Rei and the helicopter she was hanging from. "No one asked for your help!"

"As a matter of fact," Rei said, "Lady Ragyo did. If she hadn't, you'd have lost far more than your eyes by now, and we both know how she'd take that."

"I don't care!" Nui watched helplessly as the academy faded into the horizon. "I could have gotten one last kill, and you had to ruin it for me!"

"I promise you'll have many more opportunities," Rei said. "Far more than just one, in fact."

Nui went quiet and smiled to herself as the opportunities she'd just gained finally occurred to her. "Fine. Just take me home."

* * *

While transformed, Ryuko's objective had gradually shifted from "save Mako" to "don't stop until Nui is dead". Now that she'd been denied her prey, there was no such indication that Nui would be dying any time soon, and so she had no reason to stop. So her rampage continued, this time without a specific target.

"Where is she?" Aikuro muttered. "She knows she's the only one who can do this. Without her, we're as good as dead."

Meanwhile, Mako couldn't keep up with what was happening. At all. Her last clear memory was Nui holding her hostage, which wasn't something she wanted to dwell on. All she knew now was that something was wrong with Ryuko, and no one else seemed able to help her.

"So I guess it's up to me," she said to herself. "Just wait, Ryuko. I'll show you just what a surgeon's daughter can do!"

With no regard for her own safety, she rushed straight towards the monster while others rushed past her in the opposite direction. Over the commotion, she could just barely hear Aikuro and Satsuki calling her name, but even if she could understand what they were saying, she wouldn't have listened.

"Ryuko!" She leapt into the air and leapt onto her target, ignoring the burning on her skin and the frantic attempts to shake her off. "Ryuko, hold still! I didn't bring any sedative, so you'll just have to bear with this, okay? Come to think of it, I didn't bring _anything_, but I swear, I'll think of something!" She grunted in pain as she was successfully thrown to the ground. "Come on, Ryuko! I don't know what you're trying to do here, but you need to ask yourself… Do you really want to do it?"

During this speech, Ryuko was looming threateningly over her, but that last question finally made her stop. It was getting increasingly difficult to think in her current state, but now she was being forced to. Deep down, she was reminded of her last coherent thought.

_Save Mako._

If Ryuko was drowning before, then Mako had just lifted her head above the water. Whatever was left of her consciousness was fading as she returned to normal, but the last thing she saw was Mako's relieved expression, and that was enough to completely calm her.

When Kinue finally arrived, she was ready to stop a towering behemoth in its tracks and spend roughly an hour trying to calm it. What she _wasn't_ ready to face was a large crowd surrounding an unconscious body.

"We've got to get her to the medical wing!"

"What do you care? She nearly killed us all!"

"We'd be just as doomed without her! And if this is the thanks she gets, then yeah, I'd probably kill you all too."

"Everyone be quiet!"

With the word of Satsuki, everything went silent. She then extended her arms outward, and everyone made space, allowing Kinue to finally identify Ryuko.

"Could someone please let me in?" She said. "I know this girl, I'm…"

"Ooh!" Mako said. "I know! You're her mom, aren't you?"

"I…" Kinue took a step back. "...her mom?"

"Where else would she get that red streak in her hair?" She suddenly took on a serious tone. "I'm not completely sure what happened, to her, but my dad's a surgeon. He can help, if you'll let him."

"Um… Okay?" She said, still trying to work out what had happened.

Suddenly, Aikuro approached her from behind. "This is Ryuko's friend I was telling you about. She's the one who saved her."

"I see," she said. "So you're Mako then." She extended her hand to shake. "It's nice to meet you."

Mako's cheerful demeanor returned as she energetically shook the hand. "Hey, you too!"

* * *

A/N: And Ragyo and her cronies just gave up after that the end.


	15. Paying Satan a Visit

Hours after the battle was finally over, Satsuki's mind began to clear, and she came to a very abrupt realization.

There was no way for her to hide this incident from her mother.

Every time Ryuko activated her Godrobe, Satsuki had managed to sweep the incident under the rug, so to speak. But this time, it was just too big. There was no way she could repair the damage done in time, and even if she could, Nui would probably tell Ragyo anyway.

"So, I take it this was your 'mysterious informant'?"

_Speak of the devil,_ Satsuki thought. "I'm not sure I follow."

"The one who revealed to you that your father faked his death," Ragyo said, holding a photo of Ryuko in her berserk state. "It all fits together. He founded Nudist Beach and developed a Godrobe for this girl to wear, enrolling her at your school right after we sent Nui after him." She walked over and gave Satsuki a closer look at the photograph. "Of course, under these circumstances I doubt her own mother would recognize her…"

Satsuki responded to the irony of her remark with a barely visible smirk.

"...But I had Rei ask around your school," she continued, "and they all told her it was Ryuko Senketsu. To find out more about her, I've arranged a meeting with her friend, as an 'apology' on Nui's behalf. Lastly, in regards to Nudist Beach: If they've made their move, then it's time for us to make ours. As soon as your forces are ready, they'll be hunting down their base of operations under your command. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Mother." Satsuki nodded calmly. As she listened to Ragyo's departure, her smirk became more visible. The truth was that she'd already worked out that Ryuko was Isshin's daughter, as she'd referred to her as 'Ryuko Matoi' on one occasion as an experiment, and wasn't corrected when she did. With such simple and discreet methods, she'd gained the information she wanted without anybody noticing, and this put her one step ahead of everyone.

But one step wasn't enough for her. That was enough for anyone to catch up, and that meant she'd have to find her next opportunity as soon as possible.

* * *

Ryuko certainly didn't wake up in the most comfortable bed in the world, but she reasoned it must have been pretty close. It wasn't until later, when she'd finally processed the fact that she was in Mako's house, that this was a benefit of a two-star lifestyle.

The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was Mako leaning in uncomfortably close to her, but this quickly changed when Mako bolted upright in surprise.

_Whoa,_ Ryuko thought. _Déjà vu._

"You're awake!" Mako said. "Don't scare me like that! And don't scare me like _that_, either!"

Ryuko blinked for, despite her having been unconscious for who knows how long, what felt like the first time in ages. "Scare you like what?"

"Like you did back at the Naturals Election! Do you have any idea how much blood you lost?"

Several unpleasant memories suddenly came back to Ryuko. "_That's_ what scared you? You weren't in the safest of positions yourself!"

"What are you talking about?" Mako said. "I was with you the whole time, and that's the safest place I know!"

That certainly wasn't what Ryuko was expecting to hear. As she found herself at a loss for words, she heard familiar laughter from more than one source, and it finally occurred to her that she and Mako weren't the only ones in the room.

"This must be what a normal marriage is like," Isshin said.

Ryuko blushed furiously. "Father!"

Mako's eyes widened. "That's your dad? But…" She looked at him, then at Kinue. After repeating this a few times, she placed a hand to her chin and hummed thoughtfully, and Ryuko was pretty sure she didn't want to know what she was thinking.

"Oh yeah…" Kinue chuckled again. "She thinks I'm your mother."

"And you never thought to correct her?" Ryuko said. "What, do you _want_ to be my mother or something?"

Kinue didn't answer.

The silence that resulted from this awkwardness seemed to stretch space and time with its sheer magnitude, but it was finally brought to a universally welcomed end when the doorbell was heard.

When Mako answered the door, she was surprised to find Gamagoori on the other side, crouched down on one knee so that his face fit under the top of the doorframe.

"Mako Mankanshoku," he said. "You have been formally invited to Lady Satsuki's manor, where you will be treated to dinner. The reason for this invitation is to apologize for the unexpected incident you endured during the Naturals Election. Do you accept?"

Mako agreed to this for two reasons: The first was because she had no reason to turn down a free meal, and the second was because it was the answer she assumed would get him to leave as soon as possible.

"Excellent," he said, standing to one side and gesturing towards a dazzlingly bright limousine.

Mako frowned, trying to work out where he would sit so she could sit as far away from there as possible.

* * *

"Mako Mankanshoku!" Ragyo greeted her guest with open arms while standing uncomfortably close to her. "I'm so glad you agreed to come. I trust you're well acquainted with my daughter?"

"Not exactly..." Mako scratched her head. "But my friend Ryuko does! They talk about stuff and I have no idea what."

"Is that so?" Ragyo looked at Satsuki and wiggled her eyebrows in an exaggerated fashion. "Maybe I should have invited her as well."

"That wouldn't really be a good idea." Mako said. "She's still recovering from what happened at the Naturals Election. She needs to rest."

"Oh, of course." Ragyo chuckled. "Yes, I have heard about that. It sounded very disturbing."

"Hey Satsuki…" Mako leaned towards Satsuki and whispered. "You never told me your mom was Cruella De Vil."

Satsuki struggled hard to suppress a laugh, until eventually it came out as an intense coughing fit.

"You'll…" She coughed. "...you'll have to excuse me." She hastily walked towards a private room, and wasn't seen again for nearly an hour.

Ragyo smiled and shrugged. "Teenagers, am I right?"

"I guess." Mako shrugged back. "I mean, sometimes she seems older than that, but I guess only you'd know for sure."

* * *

When Ryuko finally got out of bed, she found that she was wearing a pair of pajamas that she assumed belonged to Mako (her first clue was that it felt looser around the chest), and this left her with a question.

"So where's Senketsu?" She said. "Is it somewhere safe?"

"Senketsu's fine," Kinue said. "He's currently hanging in a walk-in closet, no doubt chatting up a pretty dress. How's he been, anyway? We haven't really been in touch since you started wearing him."

"It's useful in battle," Ryuko said. "But the rest of the time, it's just a nuisance. It really seems to enjoy messing with my head and playing tricks on me…" She sighed. "It's like a child, acting out to get its mother's attent…" Her mouth suddenly hung wide open as the implications began to sink in. "Oh… oh my god."

Kinue frowned. "What? What is it?"

"I _am_ his mother…" Ryuko said. "I gave him life… But all I've done since then is physically and verbally abuse him." Before another word could be spoken, she turned and ran towards the bed she'd been on before collapsing onto it, staining the pillow with tears.

* * *

By the end of the day, both Mako and Ragyo were equally terrified of one another. Ragyo never learned anything beyond the fact that Ryuko and Satsuki often had private conversations, but she wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Now she just needed to think of a fun and creative way to interrogate the rest of the information out of her daughter.

* * *

A/N: Chapter 9. That's the one where Satsuki calls Ryuko "Matoi", if you're wondering. It was an accident on my part, but not hers.


	16. The Nightmare

Ryuko felt even more confused and disoriented than usual when she woke up, as she remembered absolutely nothing between landing on the bed and falling asleep. However, the dream she'd had afterwards was very fresh in her mind, as much as she wished it wasn't.

It consisted primarily of her conversing with a woman who looked somewhat like an older version of Satsuki. Now that she was awake, she was able to conclude that this person was there to compensate for the fact that she had no idea what her mother actually looked like. They certainly spoke to one another like a mother and daughter would, albeit in the most twisted way Ryuko could conceive.

"_They grow up so fast, don't they?" The figure said. "I was almost twice your age when I started doing what you're doing. Of course, when my children were a few months old, their reactions were limited to just crying louder and louder, so it got tiresome after a while. But yours was born intelligent, wasn't it? That must have been interesting."_

Ryuko shuddered violently at the thought that these words came from her own mind, even if they were voiced by an image of Ragyo.

"_He is not an it!" Ryuko said. "Just because he isn't a human being, that doesn't mean he shouldn't be treated like one!"_

_The figure laughed uproariously._

"_What's so funny?!" Ryuko said._

"_You _know _what's so funny," the figure said. "It's the fact that I'm hearing those words from you of all people."_

_Ryuko growled in frustration. "Look, I made a mistake! I know that now! But I should still have a chance to…"_

"_To what?" The figure said. "Do you really think it'll want to reconcile with you?"_

_Before Ryuko could answer, the figure disappeared, and a young boy sharing a number of traits with Senketsu took her place. With considerable hesitation, Ryuko tried to approach him, only for him to gasp in horror before turning and running into the black void surrounding them._

_As Ryuko stood there helplessly, one last figure appeared before her, and for once, it was one she'd seen before._

"_Wh… who are you?" She said._

"_I'm you," the figure said. "Or rather, I'm what you would be if my father was even half as bad a parent as you. When I was young, he sent me to a boarding school so he could focus on his work, and I was left alone to fend for myself. Without the same luxury you got, things went to hell. I got into fights, I joined a gang, and all in all I was the worst kind of juvenile delinquent._

"_But some things still don't change. I eventually went to Honnouji Academy, looking for the person who killed my dad."_

_How egotistical can you get? _Ryuko would later think. _Assuming someone would be dead without you._

"_All signs pointed to that person being Satsuki, but even if I didn't suspect her, I'd still despise her. You know why?"_

_The original Ryuko slowly shook her head._

"_Because she looks down on _everyone_," the doppelgänger said. "She always stands at the very top of the building, just to reinforce her delusion that everyone else is an ant to her. And even though you don't take it that far… You remind me of her, and that makes me sick."_

It was at that point Ryuko had woken up, and now that the dream had finished replaying in her head, all she could do was let her face sink into her palms.

In a desperate attempt to think of anything else that could distract her from her self-loathing, she briefly wondered what Mako was up to.

* * *

Late, late, late. Isshin Matoi hated being late. He was late to realize what a monster his wife was, and he was indescribably lucky to have a second chance at saving Ryuko's life. Now, he was late to find out that Ragyo had summoned Mako to her house, and as he rushed there on the motorcycle he borrowed from Kinue, he seriously hoped he wouldn't be too late to save Mako from whatever it was Ragyo had planned.

After making short work of the guards at the front door, Isshin threw caution to the wind and rushed inside. Because he already knew the house, he was able to locate Ragyo fairly quickly, but Mako was nowhere to be found.

"Well this is certainly a surprise," Ragyo said sincerely. "I'm almost at a loss for words. I suppose I should start by asking why you're here?"

"I'm here to save Mako Mankanshoku," he said. "Where is she?"

Ragyo giggled. "You just missed her. She's being driven home as we speak. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

And that was it. Isshin had come here for nothing, and he couldn't just apologize for the inconvenience and leave now. He'd made a mistake, and now he was completely at her mercy.

"Nothing?" She said. "You didn't come all this way for nothing. I'll tell you what, let's have a little family reunion. Satsuki? There's someone here who wants to see you!"

"No…" was all Isshin could say. He knew from the start that this could go wrong in so many ways due to him having no time to plan, and he'd foreseen many ways it could go wrong. Maybe he wouldn't even make it past the guards. Maybe Ragyo would kill him personally with a smile on her face. Maybe she'd sic Nui on him.

But Satsuki was the one person he wasn't at all prepared to face. There was just no way he could convince her to forgive him. He couldn't even convince himself that he deserved to be forgiven.

He didn't hear her enter the room, and as such had no idea when she did, but he had a feeling that before she spoke, she needed a few moments of silence just to take in what was happening.

"And what are you doing here?" She said distastefully.

"He came here to save Miss Mankanshoku," Ragyo said. "He's a little late, but I didn't want him to come all this way for nothing. Also, Soichiro, why don't you take off that disguise of yours? Who comes to a family reunion in disguise?"

This was something Isshin really didn't want to do. Soichiro was the persona he associated with every mistake he made, while Isshin was the one who moved forward. Although, having been reminded of that, he suddenly saw how fitting the switch really was. With a sigh, he removed the synthetic mask he was wearing, revealing the self he'd left behind for the first time in nearly twenty years.

"I'm sorry, my mind was elsewhere," Satsuki said. "You came here to rescue Mankanshoku?"

Soichiro turned towards her and nodded.

"I'm stuck with mother for the rest of my life, and you're too afraid to do anything about it. She comes to visit for the evening, and you drop everything to make sure she's alright."

Soichiro knew what he was about to say would not help his case in the slightest. "If anything happened to her, Ryuko would surely…"

"Oh, I saw what she could do," Satsuki said, "and the implications are far from lost on me. That could have been _me_. Your parting 'gift' could have turned me into a monster." She suddenly grabbed him by the collar. "It could have _killed_ me, and the only warning you gave me was too vague to mean anything!"

Soichiro had tears in his eyes now. "Satsuki, please… I…"

"_No,_" she said, throwing him harshly to the ground. "The time for a second chance has passed. I couldn't care less what happens to you now, just as you never cared about what happened to _me._"

With no motivation left to even object to that statement, Soichiro lay there and wept, wishing Ragyo had just killed him the moment he entered the room.

"Rei, dear?" Ragyo called. "I know I'm always giving you menial tasks when you're capable of so much more, but could you please come here and take out the trash? It's rather unpleasant to have it just lying here."

Rei caught her meaning as soon as she entered the room, and grabbed Soichiro by the collar with no resistance. As she dragged him nonchalantly towards a window, Satsuki turned her back on him, telling herself that she was doing this out of apathy.

Once the window was fully open, Soichiro was tossed outside, and Rei closed it again before preparing to leave.

"Hold on now, Rei," Ragyo said. "As eager to die as he looked just now, I want to be sure he doesn't try anything funny. Have someone check at the bottom for a body."

"Yes, ma'am." Rei nodded politely and left the room. Ragyo waited longer than she expected to for her return, but when she did, she came with good news.

"They've found the body, ma'am," she said. "There's no indication of breathing or a pulse, and he's being disposed of as we speak."

"Excellent," Ragyo said. "Satsuki, you're free to go back to what you were doing now."

Satsuki closed her eyes and sighed. "Yes, mother."


	17. Hangover

"Ryuk-" Mako interrupted herself with a hiccup. "Ryuuuuko!"

"Mako?" Ryuko nervously poked her head out of the door, afraid to face the girl she'd mistreated almost as badly as Senketsu.

"Ryuko!" Mako stumbled towards her and enveloped her in a slightly too friendly hug. "Ryuko, guesh where I been!"

The smell of alcohol suddenly became very apparent to Ryuko. "...Mako, are you drunk?"

"I dunno," she said, "am I? Anyway, I went to Sha… Satsmu… Sots…" She forced herself to concentrate. "...Satsuki's place! I got to meet her mom aneverything!"

"Satsuki's…" In a panic, Ryuko suddenly grabbed her by the shoulders. "Did she do anything to you?!"

"Not mush…" Mako said. "She gave me a glasha wine, asked me about you… gave me another glass anasked me again… Then she gave me _another_ glass… and another… and then I kinda lost count!" She laughed sheepishly.

Ryuko struggled to keep her voice down. "What did you tell her?"

"Nothin' much," Mako said. "I tolder you were pals with Snapsuki…" She giggled loudly. "...Snapsuki. ...buddat was before she gave me any wine."

"And you're sure you didn't tell her anything else?" Ryuko said.

Mako affectionately squished Ryuko's cheeks. "I'm _suuuure_. She was _really_ scary though! She's like a crosh between Cruella De Vil and… you ever watch Dragon Ball Z?"

"Mako, focus!" Ryuko said.

"I am focusing!" Mako said. "She was like… She was like Freeza! Thatsa one. Hey Ryuko, you wanna sleep together?"

"_What?_" Ryuko said. "I… why?"

"'Cuz I'm _sleepy,_ silly!" Mako laughed. "Come on, all aboard the SS Sleepytime Express! Shoe shoe!"

After some consideration, Ryuko decided it was best to just go through with this. She'd finished asking everything she wanted to know about Mako's visit, and the only other thing she wanted to do was apologize to Mako for being such a poor friend. She figured such an apology was best saved for when Mako was sober, so that she'd know what she was forgiving her for. Assuming Mako would forgive her, of course.

"Come on, then." Ryuko smiled wearily. "All aboard the SS Sleepytime Express."

"Hecks yeah!" With surprising agility, Mako leapt onto Ryuko for a piggyback ride. "We got _first class tickets_ to the SS Sleepytime Express, baby! Wheee!"

* * *

As soon as Mako's eyes were finally open, she made a vow: She was _never_ drinking again. She knew perfectly well that vows were meant to be reserved for important things, but right now, nothing was more important to her than being rid of this _damn_ aching in her head.

"Ryuko…" She groaned. "Ryuuukoo…" She rolled towards the other side of the bed, which was completely empty. She stared intently at the pillow for a while before forcefully putting a hand over it. "Okay shut up a minute, you're making it hurt even more." She continued to stare. "...Ryuko?"

Ryuko gently walked into the room, taking extra care not to make too much noise. In her hand was a plate full of croquettes lovingly and expertly crafted by Mako's mother. She placed them next to the bed and watched expectantly.

"Ryuko…" Mako mumbled. "Has anyone ever told you you look _delicious?_" She absentmindedly grabbed one of the croquettes and took a bite out of it, and in the space of a few seconds she sprung out of the bed with a large grin on her face.

"Oh man!" She said enthusiastically. "I feel great! I feel like twenty Popeyes, spinach and everything. Blutos, Brutuses and Sindbads beware, 'cause I'm gonna _kick your ass!_"

Ryuko could only smile. She hadn't seen Mako like this since the Naturals Election. She soon found herself reminiscing about the times she'd spent with Mako, which brought an important reminder to her attention.

"Listen, Mako…" She said, more quietly than she intended to. "I've realized lately that I've been a pretty lousy friend to you. At first, I didn't think it was even worth being friends with you, but now I know I couldn't be more wrong about that. What I'm trying to say here is… I'm sorry. Do you think you can forgive me?"

Mako looked contemplative for a fraction of a second. "Okay," she said casually.

Ryuko went completely silent, wondering if she'd misheard. "...really?"

"Sure!" Mako said. "Everyone deserves a second chance. Heck, I'd give you way more than just two! It's the least I can do after you saved my life! How many 'just barely tolerating you' friends would do what you did in that situation?"

"I…" Ryuko suddenly hugged her, surprising both of them. "Thank you, Mako."

* * *

On the way to school that morning, Mako had a wonderful idea. It began with her noticing that Ryuko was wearing a different uniform today, and when questioned, she said she didn't want to talk about it. Mako knew that that uniform was what helped Ryuko to protect her, and after remembering what Nui did to her tennis club uniform, she tried to think of a different approach.

"Hey, remember your first fight with Takaharu?" She said. "He said his boxing club uniform had an advantage over your exhibitionism club uniform because his club had more to do with fighting!"

"You do know there isn't actually an exhibitionism club, right?" Ryuko said.

Mako didn't seem to hear this. "So what I need to do is start my own club, dedicated to the very _essence_ of fighting! It'll be like that movie, _Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde!_"

"That's actually crazy enough to work," Ryuko said. "You should take it up with Satsuki as soon as possible."

* * *

Satsuki didn't know how to answer Mako's request to start a new club, and not helping matters was the fact that both of her potential answers would have been rather biased. On the one hand, Mako was the girl who had taught Satsuki to laugh, for which she was far more grateful than she expected to be. But on the other hand, Mako was the girl whose life Soichiro prioritized over his own daughter's, which inevitably resulted in resentment.

"If I allow you to start this… 'fight club'," Satsuki said, "what will become of the tennis club?"

"I was hoping to give it back to Omiko," Mako said. "After what happened at the Naturals Election, I think she's earned it."

"Omiko Hakodate never got a chance to participate in the Naturals Election," Inumuta said. "Although she was scheduled to fight against me, the entire tournament was cut short before then, if you'll recall."

"Oh yeah," Mako said. "Well, don't you think she deserves something for making it past the preliminaries?"

"We'll consider it," Satsuki said. "You're free to return to your classes now."

"One last thing," Mako said. "Who is it who makes the uniforms?"

Iori turned away from his work. "That would be me."

"Hey, good job!" Mako said. "How'd you like to work with Ryuko on this one?"

"Considering what I've heard about her," he said, "it would certainly be interesting."

"Great!" Mako said. "I'll let her know right away." She left the room, deciding for some reason that cartwheels would be the most fitting method of doing so.

"Nonon," Satsuki said, "you can stop gritting your teeth now."

"I'll consider it," Nonon muttered.

* * *

Today, Mako was standing (or rather, cartwheeling) on top of the world. Everything was going her way, and if things kept up like this, she might even find the perfect time to tell Ryuko about…

"Ryuko?" She stopped at the classroom door, seeing a head with a familiar red streak of hair slumped on the table. "...what's wrong, Ryuko?"

Aikuro approached her and spoke quietly. "I think it's best if I explained to you in private." He urged her outside and closed the door behind him, and after some considerable hesitation, he cleared his throat and explained to her.

"Ryuko's father was found dead last night. The body was found outside the Kiryuin family's house."

For the first time that day, Mako stopped smiling.


	18. Ryuko and Mako Kiss

A/N: So far, my biggest regret in this story is Mako not attempting a drunken Hallelujah Speech in the previous chapter.

* * *

"Ryuko…" Mako placed a gentle hand on her friend's shoulder. "I'm… I'm really sorry. I don't know what else to say, to be honest."

"You've already said enough." Ryuko forced a very brief smile. "Right now, I'm just trying to work out where to go from here."

"What do you mean?" Mako said.

"Well, I've discussed some of it with Mikisugi already," she said. "He's warned me not to confront Satsuki right away, because that would just be reckless, and that's the main reason my father…" She paused before letting out a long sigh. "At the moment, we don't even want her to know that we know about her involvement in this. She could easily lay a trap for us that way. But eventually, we'll use what she doesn't know to our advantage. So what did she say to your fight club suggestion?"

Mako's demeanor brightened slightly, but not as much as it normally would have. "She said 'we'll see', but the main issue seems to be who they're going to hand the tennis club to. While I was there, I convinced the guy who makes the uniforms to work with you on this one."

Ryuko responded with a slightly more genuine smile. "You won't be disappointed."

* * *

After school, Ryuko gathered her possessions from her own house and brought them to where Mako lived, mainly for the company. What she needed the most right now, she felt, was people she could call 'family', and while there were certainly some who fit that description more literally for her, none of them were at all approachable.

Dinner was eaten in total silence that night, which was a first for the Mankanshoku family. Mako had insisted it be that way in honor of Ryuko's father, and there wasn't a single objection. Even their pet dog, Guts, seemed more under control than usual. Once the meal was finished, Ryuko took it upon herself to return sound to the room.

"I'd really like to thank you all again for this," she said. "Even something as simple as this means a lot to me, and I think Mako is really lucky to have you for a family."

"You're too kind," Mako's mother said. "At this point, we all consider you to be a part of our family anyway. Any loss for you is just as much a loss for us."

"Thank you," Ryuko said. "If you'll excuse me, I'll be going to bed now."

* * *

Ryuko's dreams that night still weren't pleasant, but she still considered it to be an improvement over the last two times she slept. The thread that seemed to connect them all was the child resembling Senketsu, whom she would notice out of the corner of her eye, only for him to immediately disappear. Over time, this came to stand out among the other disturbing things she'd seen.

When she woke up, she found herself clinging to Mako, who was simply watching her with a calm smile on her face. Eventually, Ryuko smiled back at her. This was the opposite of what usually happened when they slept together, but neither one of them seemed to mind.

"Ryuko…" Mako said. "I promise you, I'll never leave your side. No matter what happens, I'll always be here with you."

"Mako…" Ryuko didn't know how to respond. Actually, that was a lie. She knew how she wanted to respond, but she was worried it might ruin the entire friendship. She tried desperately not to let the conflict she was feeling show on her face, but it was no use: Mako could see right through her.

And this frankly made Mako quite frustrated. Just when it looked like Ryuko was about to make the first move, her nerves got the best of her and she stopped herself.

_I guess if you want something done, you have to do it yourself,_ Mako thought. With barely a moment's hesitation, she pulled herself closer to Ryuko, who was beginning to wonder what exactly was happening. She soon got the answer she wanted when she felt Mako's lips against her own.

She wasn't sure how long the kiss lasted, but the closest approximation she could give after it was over was 'not long enough'. So, much to Mako's delight, she moved in for another kiss. And another. And a few more for good luck.

Innumerable kisses later, they were finally satisfied. There'd be plenty of time for more in the near future, and they could hardly wait.

"Good night, Ryuko." Mako waited until she was sure the other girl was asleep before speaking again. "...I love you."

* * *

Gamagoori's failure had been haunting him for days night, and it was now, that he could stand no more. Tonight, on this dark and quiet morning, he was going to kill himself.

He'd deliberately chosen this time, along with the out-of-the-way alley in the slums where nobody would think to look for him, in defiance of the idea of making his suicide a grand spectacle. Failing Satsuki had reduced him to a nobody, and he would die a nobody.

He readied the sword he had shamefully stolen and positioned it so that the blade pointed towards his abdomen, but just as he was about to bring it towards him he heard an unexpected voice.

"...Gamagoori? What the hell?"

"I could ask you the same thing," he said, lacking the energy heard in his usual stern tone, "Makoto Kabakingu."

"_I'm_ looking for something to eat," Kabakingu said. "It's not as easy as it was when I was a two-star. And _you_ look like you're about to do something really stupid."

"It's my only option now," Gamagoori said. "I'm worthless to Lady Satsuki, and worthless in every other regard. I don't expect someone like you to understand."

Kabakingu put his hands on his sides and leaned in closer. "And what's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"It means you have no passion for what you do!" He snapped. "If you really cared about what you did, you wouldn't be in such a sorry shape."

"And apparently I'd also be killing myself over every little failure," Kabakingu said. "If that's really part of having a passion for what I do, then I don't think I _want_ a passion for it! I don't think _anyone_ would besides masochistic freaks like you!"

"Perhaps," Gamagoori said as he readied the sword again. "Perhaps it is a double edged sword I chose to wield. And now, that sword finds its mark…" He brought it towards him again, feeling the steel pierce his clothing…

...When Kabakingu punched him in the face, causing it to fall from his hand.

"It's not worth it," he said firmly. "If Satsuki really cared about your failure as much as you do, she'd have told you by now. She probably would have forced you into the same no-star lifestyle I'm in. And if she did? _Still_ not worth it. I've already fallen that far, and this whole ordeal has helped me realize what I'm going to do about it: I'm going to climb back up again. And the same goes for you: If you're going to fall, get back up. If you're going to cry, wipe your tears!" He frowned. "...seriously, wipe that up. It looks disgusting."

Gamagoori brushed a sleeve against his face and sniffed loudly. "You're right…" He began to stand again. "I will continue to offer everything I can to Satsuki, and no obstacle will stop me!"

Several yards away, Sanageyama finally stopped running and began to catch his breath. He was honestly impressed that Kabakingu had successfully talked Gamagoori out of suicide before he could even arrive, let alone try for himself.

"Don't give up Ira," he said, as if forgetting he was the only one who could hear speech from incredible distances. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

* * *

A/N: I'd better clarify: I don't think suicidal people are stupid. I feel that their depression has negatively affected their decision-making ability, but that doesn't make them stupid people. Everyone makes bad decisions, and suicide just happens to be a particularly bad one.

Also, I had difficulty choosing between this chapter's title and "I Will Wipe My Own Tears". I chose this one as a fair warning to anyone who might be opposed to Ryuko and Mako kissing.


	19. Brainstorming

Mako woke that morning up to find that Ryuko's good mood sadly didn't last all night, and it was quite clear to her why. Whenever Mako had a nightmare, it never meant anything beyond 'you should take a break from reading horror', but she knew this wasn't the case with Ryuko, and she could understand that nightmares that actually had basis in reality would be far more disturbing.

Mako woke her with a kiss to the forehead, and as her eyes opened, a relieved expression formed on her face. Before getting up, she wrapped her arms around Mako and brought her closer.

During breakfast, both of Mako's parents could tell something had happened the night before, and they both had a fairly good idea of what. Before now, Mako was never very subtle when expressing her affection for Ryuko, so it amused them both to suddenly see her so quiet and embarrassed about the matter.

Before departing for school, Ryuko spent quite some time standing outside the walk-in closet, debating whether or not to enter. Each passing day made it more difficult, because delaying it made her less able to face Senketsu. There was just no way she could convince him to fogive her. She couldn't even convince herself that she deserved to be forgiven.

Kinue watched with a mixture of concern and disapproval as Ryuko finally turned away from the closet. If things kept up like this, Kinue would have to directly intervene and force things along. As she had for the past few days now, she entered the closet, preparing herself for another one-sided conversation.

* * *

"Hey, Satsuki," Nonon said. "Something's clearly wrong, so why don't you go ahead and tell me what it is?"

Satsuki sighed. Sometimes, Nonon knew her too well. "It's a number of things, really. However, one of them concerns something Uzu Sanageyama told me this morning, and he has insisted that it remain a private matter for now. In addition, I barely understand one of the problems myself, to the point where I can't even put it into words."

"And the other problems?" Nonon said.

"First of all," Satsuki said, "my mother has learned of the conversations between me and Ryuko Matoi."

Nonon tilted her head. "You mean Ryuko Senketsu?"

The corners of Satsuki's lips moved upward slightly. "I was expecting her to say something like that when I first addressed her by that name. But I had a hunch that 'Senketsu' was an alias, and it seems that hunch was correct. But I digress." What little there was that could be considered a smile disappeared from her face. "Since my mother learned of these conversations, she's been asking me for more precise details, and her methods of interrogation are as creative as they are disturbing."

Nonon made a disgusted face. "You'll get your chance to strike back at her soon enough."

"Thank you," Satsuki said. "As for my final problem… I still have no idea how to respond to Mankanshoku's 'fight club' request."

"Let's not talk about fight club for now," Nonon said. "It sounds like you have much bigger problems to focus…"

Knock knock.

"Satsuki?" Ryuko said. "I'm here to talk to about Mako's fight club."

"Speak of the devil," Nonon muttered.

"Come in," Satsuki said, watching carefully as Ryuko did so. "Yesterday, I heard about Isshin Matoi's disappearance, and I would like to offer my condolences."

Time seemed to slow down as Ryuko began to process the implications of this statement. The fact that Satsuki referred to him by his alias suggested that she was still unaware of his true identity, leading Ryuko to briefly wonder how Satsuki would respond if she knew the truth. In addition, the use of 'disappearance' instead of 'death' indicated that Satsuki was involved enough in his death to know that whoever was responsible wanted the body to be hidden, which raised the question: How did Aikuro find him? If he was found near the Kiryuin household, then did they even get a chance to hide him?

This train of thought lasted mere moments, and Ryuko's response to what Satsuki had said came fairly quickly. "Thank you. Back to the matter at hand, I heard you haven't yet decided on how to respond to Mako's request."

"That is correct," Satsuki said. "I take it you have something that you feel may influence my decision?"

"Not much," Ryuko said. "I would be very interested in joining it, but I mainly came here to offer to help create the uniform."

"That was discussed yesterday," Satsuki said. "Shiro Iori is the one you should be talking to about this. He's just over there."

Ryuko turned to where she was pointing and, upon seeing Iori, offered a quick greeting. "So you're the one behind the Ultima Uniforms. ...about Gamagoori's…"

"His idea," Iori said quickly.

"I thought so," Ryuko said. "Anyway, there are some ideas for this particular uniform I'd like to share with you…"

As the two brainstormed together, Iori often asked Inumuta to calculate statistics for the uniform based on what they were both suggesting. At first, he did so without any objection, but as the results his computer gave him fluctuated more and more, he felt a sudden need to take a breather.

"Hold on a minute," he said. "If I add the data for this uniform to the data I've already collected on Mankanshoku…" He briefly ran his fingers along the keyboard before removing his glasses in disbelief. "...it seems that almost all of her skill levels would exceed nine thousand…"

"What?!" Gamagoori said. "Nine thousand?! There's no way that can be right! ...can it?"

"You could try calculating it for yourself if you want," Inumuta said dryly. "If your answer's more reliable, I'll accept that one instead."

Gamagoori muttered unintelligibly, but stopped when Satsuki suddenly spoke up again.

"This could be exactly what we've been looking for," she said. "Ryuko, I should have told you about this sooner, but… My mother's planning to do something fairly drastic."

Ryuko simply waited for her to continue.

"She's asked me to hunt down Nudist Beach's base of operations, and disguise the attack as an effort to spread the academy's influence across Japan. She is bound to know if my efforts are insincere, and as such I have no choice but to go all-out. I was hoping that you would be able to stop me, and with Mankanshoku at your side with such power, your odds certainly seem greater. I will agree to this club, and ask only that neither of you disappoint me."

"Oh, we won't." Ryuko said. "I'll be going now."

* * *

Mako slowly snuck up behind Omiko before suddenly placing her hands on her shoulders, scaring the living heck out of her. "Hey Omiko! Guess what?"

Omiko took a moment to catch her breath. "Wh… what?"

"I've started my own club!" She said. "So the tennis club is going back to you!"

"Wow…" was all Omiko could say. "...thanks."

"Don't worry about it!" Mako said. "That uniform just wasn't for me anyway, what with that weird scope and the infinite number of tennis balls stashed under the skirt…"

Omiko tilted her head. "...infinite?"

"Uh-huh!" Mako nodded. "I counted them. Twice, just to make sure."

Omiko spent quite some time failing to think of a response. "Well… I guess this is goodbye then. I just want you to know it was great to have you in the Tennis Club… eventually."

"Hey, thanks!" Mako said. "But this is anything but goodbye. There's nothing stopping me from seeing you again, and there's nothing stopping us from going on more awesome adventures! Heck, one day we might even go to the moon!"

After some more confusion, Omiko could only smile. "Yeah. That sounds like fun."

* * *

A/N: Remember, if you like this story, be sure to leave a review!

Also, if you hate this story, be sure to leave a review!


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